Noah Of Memories
by Birdy Chan
Summary: Teal struggles to fit in the world but once she joins the Black Order, she opens up gradually and her life is changed forever. However, a woman who lives in her body is trying to kill her and threatens Teal's newfound life. Chapter 5 redone!
1. First Night

**Summary: Teal, a sixteen year old girl has always struggled through life. When she joins the Black Order, her horizons are expanded and she gradually opens up and she is starting to finally live a life she's always dreamed of, plus gaining some new and unexpected abilities along the way. However, a demonic woman that resides in Teal's body is trying to kill her and threatens her new found life. Teal hopes that the Order will provide her with the power or guide her to finish off the woman that threatens her life. With the new turn of events, Teal gets more than she bargained for  
**

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First Night

A lone girl was wandering in the outskirts outside a quiet town. It was a cold winter night and she needed shelter for the night. She held out her hand to catch the falling snow as if she had seen it the first time and gazed at it admiringly. She had seen snow before but it felt like she had fallen into a deep sleep and the snow was the only pleasant thing to welcome her. Everything else was strange and she hardly knew anything else other than her name and age.

A woman stood in front of her. The girl did not speak to her. She could see the woman but she ignored her presence. She hated and feared that woman as long as she could remember. That woman created a nightmare come true with something red.

'What is 'hate'?' The girl thought as the fridged wind blew strands of her auburn hair in her face.

'A powerful emotion that is the opposite of love.' The voice did not belong to the woman in front of her. It came from somewhere else.

'What is 'love'?'

'An unknown power that brings people together and will bring happiness among them.'

'Promise us...' Another faint voice came from somewhere. It was a boy but he was invisible.

'What's a promise?'

'A vow that people keep in order to complete their goal or wish.'

'My wish... I wish that I can live... Without seeing shadows... ever again...'

7 Years Later... Some where in England

"Delivery!" A cheerful voice rang out in a store. Everyone stared at her like she was crazy and her smile soon faded.

"Oh... Is this the General Store?" She pulled out a fairly big package from her back pack.

"Get out of my store." The manager growled. "I don't need some yanki in my store."

"Uh well, it's not what you think. I'm the odd-job person. My uniform got dirty so all I have to wear is this, so please excuse it." She laughed nervously. She looked at the manager and he wasn't buying it. She was wearing long grey baggy pants that were tucked into her worn out boots and she wore a black trench coat that barely concealed a wooden sword hilt.

"I'm wearing an armband, idi- sir, see?" She held up her arm and a mocking bird carrying a plant in it's mouth was visibly seen.

"Don't screw around with me! I know a troublemaker when I see one and I don't want someone like you to deliver packages to my store."

She ran out as quickly as she could before he started to really make a scene.

'Damn, that's the third one this week. This isn't the best job but most places will accept anyone under this business.'

She was thinking about countless notice boards that were hiring in the past places she had been to but all the jobs that she wanted or were able to do required a criminal record check and hers was a few inches thick.

'My earliest memory was that snowy night. I remember almost everything was new to me since it was the first time I was 'outside'. I learned about the outside world but I fell under the wrong crowd and became a yanki. I started to fight without a real reason because I was desperate to get away from that woman. When I met Shishou, he helped me find my way and I'm finally on the right track on how I want to live my life. Right now, I'm not that worried about her.' She untied the black and gold ribbon that was around her neck and held it in her hand.

'I want to know how I got this. Who gave it to me? That's been on my mind for a long time now. I remember their voice on that snowy night. 'Promise us'. I don't remember saying that to anyone before I met Shishou.' She smiled with confidence as she tied it up again.

'I promise... I'll find them before my time is up. I won't give up!' She walked into a sign after coming back to reality and fell on the ground.

'That's gonna leave a mark. Ah great, I went too far. Note to self: Don't think and walk at the same time.'

She looked at the sign and she was right next to a club. 'Crud. I ended up in the R.L district.' She pulled out her map and was trying to find her current location. She had 'x's in 4 different areas of the city she was in and she scirbbled something at the bottom.

'Okay, I'm here, no wait, is it here?' She traced her finger and looked around at surrounding buildings.

'Great. Just great. You think I'd develop a sense of direction after living a few years on the streets.'

"Are you lost, girly?" She turned her head around quickly and there were three boys about a few years older than her glaring at her. "How about you come with one of us and we'll have some fun." One of them laughed as he stepped forward.

"No thanks." She replied. She put her hand on her wooden sword that was covered by her jacket. 'Bring it on.'

"I won't take 'no' for an answer." He was about to grab her but she jumped on a nearby tarp to avoid him.

"Come on, I'll be nice." He coaxed.

"Go find some other flirt." She stood on the tarp and drew her sword. "Unless you wanna get scrapped off the walls, I suggest you don't bother me."

"Think you can beat us, sweetheart? With that stick?"

"Prob'ly." She said flatly.

"Prob'ly?" The other two boys burst out laughing. "That's it, no more Mr. Nice Guy." One boy snuck under the tarp and sliced it so she would fall. She let herself fall then caught the pole and kicked him in the head and knocked him out.

"Boss! Okay, you little witch. Die!" They drew small knives.

'Crap. Now might be a good time to run.' She bolted down the street as fast as she could. There wasn't any more stands with tarps or anything so she could escape by the roofs. She made a right turn into an alley without thinking but it was an absolute dead end.

'This isn't gonna be pretty.'

"Any last words?" They cornered her in the alley and she drew her sword once more.

"Gentlemen first." She smiled slyly.

The boy on her right charged her first. She charged at him and they clashed blades. It was a fairly even match since his knife was half the size of her sword and the knife was made out of metal. Her sword was long and it was made out of a strong type of wood.

"Ah!" The girl cried out in pain and she fell to the ground holding her leg.

"How unfortunate for you that you had a leg cramp. You're finish- DOH!" He was gasping for air because now he was in pain. She used her sword to hit him in his extreme weak spot.

"Ever heard of strategy, idiot?" She said as she stood up.

"You... little..." He was about to charge her again and she used her hands and knife chopped his shoulders then when he was back on the ground she bent his arm back, forced him on his feet then sent him to a garbage pile nearby.

"Two down, one to go." She muttered. "Y'know, do you really want to fight me? I will let you go without a fuss if you don't want to." He ran off in terror.

'Phew. That was exciting. Really pays off being taught under Shishou and maybe a little bit from being a yanki.' She put her sword back in its case on her belt.

As she got out of the alley, she noticed that the sun was setting. She could see the sea on her right. There was a street that looked like it ended at the sea. Teal just stood there and stared at the sun that was touching the surface of the water.

"It's beautiful, eh?" A voice said behind her. She thought the last guy went for help. 'Dammit, I shouldn't have let him go.'

When she turned around, there was a tall man who had long red hair and a wide brim hat. He had a long black jacket with gold edges and a gold badge on his chest. He was in the shadows of a building so Teal couldn't see his face. But she could smell that he had been drinking and smoking. She was suspicous of him and fingered her sword hilt.

"So what's a girl like you doing in this part of town?" He grunted.

"I got lost. And I just finished kickin' some idiot's butt." She kept her guard up and studied the man carefully. The man looked up and noticed her armband.

"You're an odd-job worker, eh?"

"Yep that's me! Is there something that you need me to do?" She smiled and gave thumbs up. 'I really hope he's a good tipper. That coat looks like its edges are made out of gold.'

"Yes. I need a package delivered and its vitally important. I would deliver it myself." He coughed and she could've sworn that he said 'not really' in between. "But I have other business to attend to. You look pretty tough so I would like you to take this job. You must guard it like it is the world's last hope of survival."

"Wait, so the world's coming to an end if this doesn't get delivered?" She was slightly alarmed.

"Could be. The journey could be very dangerous so you must be prepared."

"Do I have a say in this?" She put her hands on her hips. 'Is this guy THAT desprate?'

"No. I'd love to say yes but only you can do it." The man gave her a fairly small and an extremely light package. It said 'Komui Lee Science Department'. She looked at the address on a sheet of paper that was on it. She thought she recognized the town and it supposidly wasn't very far from London.

"How am I…?" The man was gone before she could finish her question. She flipped the sheet over and it said 'There is a train that you can take that will get you to your destination. It's already been paid for.'

'He didn't even pay me.' Her jaw dropped. 'So from here, the train station is... that way.' She followed her map to the station and caught her train. 'I don't know what this package is but I have a feeling I'm going to get lucky.' She smiled and fell asleep in her seat.


	2. The Black Order

The Black Order

The next day, the girl arrived in England in the late afternoon. She was half asleep because she was listening to the conductor's calls for stations. Finally, the train arrived at her station. The station was not in the town but it was on the way to where she needed to go.

'The Black Order' was her destination. She had never heard of the Black Order but she trusted the man's directions. When she was outside of the town, she had an uneasy feeling that she was being followed and watched but no one was around her. She usually wore gang like clothes just to keep others away from her when she's traveling.

The town that she passed through had more stores than she had ever seen in a while. It was very busy today. People were crowding the streets and it was difficult to walk through. She took a few wrong turns a couple of times and ended up at dead ends.

In a few of the alleys she ended up in, it seems like there was someone lurking in the shadows. A dark aura or atmosphere surrounded the alleys. If she felt that dark atmosphere, she'd just tell herself to stay calm and move on.

Last night's situation was a little different. When she ran into those guys, she was terrified but she remembered her training and the first step was never show anyone you were afraid. As long as she's calm and focused, she can fight really well.

She decided to browse at some kiosks. She stopped at a jewelry stand but they were too expensive for her and the manager was yelling at her that if she didn't have enough money, she couldn't browse. So she just left and continued to walk around.

'Hey, maybe I can get customers here. That is, after I deliver the package.' When she could see the end of the road, she walked by a bar and there was some men fighting. When she looked down on them when they were on the ground, she covered her mouth and was looking around for a garbage can to throw up in.

When she finally made it out of town, all she could see was a very large field and a river that ran along side it. The field had no natural paths and there was nothing that could be seen. It was like an African savanna but it wasn't flat.

"I just need to keep on going north until I see some kind of big building." She was walking north for about an hour and a half until she got to the top of a big hill.

"This is where it's supposed to be, I don't... ah, and I never would've guessed it was on top of a cliff. I wonder who lives here." There was a very tall cliff and the top was covered by clouds. She backed up a bit and then ran and jumped on to some ledges. It was easy jumping from ledge to ledge because of her martial arts training. When she was half way up, the ledges were too small to jump and she had to climb the rest of the way up. When she got to the top, she saw a flag with the same symbol on her package.

'This looks like the right place.' She walked over to the railing to look how high she was, she couldn't even see the bottom because of the clouds. 'Holy... Crap. Who in their right mind would build a building here? Maybe this is a secret building with a secret organization! But why would he send me? I've read this book about people going on this errand to this organization but they never came back! Oh, what am I saying? Shishou had always said to give people the benefit of the doubt. So maybe this might be different from the books.' She was about to continue down the path when this person came out of no where and pushed her to the side.

"Get out of my way, girl." As she got up, she was extremely dizzy. Her head was spinning and then she saw a place that was not the pathway she was on. Was she dreaming? It was a dark room and she heard the person who pushed her was talking to himself.

"Hee-Hee, those stupid Exorcists won't know what hit them. I'll give this bomb to the Head Officer and it will go off after a few seconds as soon as I am outside the gate."

Just then, the pathway came back. 'What the heck was that? Something about a bomb? I think that guy has got a bomb! I'm not taking any chances. I got to stop it before it explodes!' She dashed to the gate. When she arrived at the gate, a voice came from a black bat robot like thing. "Who goes there? And what is your purpose for being here?"

"Teal"

"Anthony" the two said at the same time "I'm here to deliver a package to Komui."

The man beside Teal stared at her. "Get your own job. I was here first. I bet your package is a fake. You want proof of mine? Here." Teal kicked the man's package as hard as she could.

"What did you do that for idiot?" Teal ignored his taunt. She watched the package hover in mid air for a second and start descending.

Three... two... one... BOOM! The package that he had exploded. There was scorch marks on the wall and on a couple of trees around them.  
-

"Send some help for that girl before she gets killed." Komui, the head of the Science Department ordered.

"No need Head Officer," called Section Chief Reever, "Allen's on it."

Anthony was in so much rage that he forgot where he was and changed into a level two akuma form. His body was a huge old rotten tree.

"What the heck?" Teal watched in horror as the human standing in front of her transformed into some kind of monster. Before she could draw her sword to defend herself, he grabbed her by the collar.

"You little..." he threw Teal against a wall. "I'm going to kill you for getting in my way!" He began strangling her and ripped off her ribbon on her neck. Teal tried desperately to draw her sword. Teal's package fell out of her bag. That distracted the akuma for a minute.

"I detect Innocence." He smiled and grabbed the package and loosened his grip on Teal.

"Drop that!" Teal screamed. The akuma tore open the package. "What's this? Ribbons? BWAHHAHAHAHA! What kind of weapon is a ribbon?" Teal was able to break free of his grip and grabbed the ribbons. She had her ribbons in one hand and her sword in the other.

"Even if they are ribbons, I swore to protect them. You can have them over my dead body!" She pointed her sword at the akuma.

"Like that's going to give you a chance to survive. Prepare to die..." Teal braced herself and waited for the akuma to move.

"CROSS GRAVE!" A white cross appeared on the monster.

"Stand back!" A voice came from no where. There was a boy who jumped in front of her. He had white hair and a large silver left arm. It was more like a claw.

"An exorcist? But... Oh yeah I'm at the Black Order. I shouldn't have blown my cover."

"Doesn't matter," The boy replied sharply, "I saw you with my eye." Teal noticed the boy's left eye was not normal. It was black with red rings. She watched in amazement as the boy's left arm changed into a gun. 'How did he do that?'

He shot the monster and the monster seemed to be somewhat damaged. There were numerous attacks from both the boy and the monster. The monster took a few steps back and was about to fire its gun at the boy. The shot was fired before the boy could take it in but instead, it was shot at Teal and hit her in the arm.

"I had enough fighting you and not being able to kill you. So I decided to change my target to someone who can't resist the Blood Virus." The akuma blood virus is a virus that destroys people from the inside within seconds. Black stars called pentacles appeared over Teal's body. She grasped her arm and groaned in pain.

"Damn, I should've been quicker," the boy muttered.

"If you don't mind, I'll take the ribbons... WHA?" The akuma stepped back in shock at Teal. The bullet hole in her arm was healing rapidly and the pentacles that were suddenly appearing all over her body vanished shortly after appearing. She was still standing after a direct hit. Her sword was knocked into a tree and she had nothing to defend herself with.

"You're supposed to be dead! Bet you can't do that again." The akuma fired again but this time, the boy shielded her.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine." The ribbons that she was holding suddenly wrapped themselves around her arms. She tried tugging them but they wouldn't budge.

"They won't come off." She was starting to panic. The akuma shot at her again and the boy grabbed her and dodged.

'Wow, he's fast.'

"Just give me the girl and I won't kill you!"

"Bring salvation to this akuma's soul!" The boy shouted. Then he destroyed it and deactivated his arm.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes. You're quite the fighter. Oh no! Where's my ribbon?" Teal was scrounging around for her choker.

"This?" The boy held up her black and gold ribbon.

"Yes! Thank you! It's my most valuable treasure. Now I just need to get my sword." Teal walked up to the tree that had her sword. The branches were burnt and looked like they were weak. Teal climbed up on the tree next to it.

"You know I could get it for you." The boy offered.

"It's okay. I almost got it-." Teal grabbed her sword and the branch she was on snapped. It was falling and Teal quickly jumped on the ground on all fours like a cat and the branched landed behind her. The boy jumped back a bit. Teal didn't budge.

"Oh boy. That was close." He said. Teal looked at the branch after she put her sword back in her coat.

"I'm somewhat used to it. Besides, no pain, no game." She shrugged.

'What kind of person is she?' "My name's Allen. Where did you get those ribbons? If I'm not mistaken, they have Innocence in them."

"I'm Teal. Some guy gave me a package with them and said to bring them here. I don't know who he was. I wonder if there's anything else in that package." Teal had picked up the torn box. All that was left was an envelope. It didn't say 'Komui Lee' instead it said 'Allen Walker'.

"Allen is your last name 'Walker'?" She turned her head to him.

"Yes..." The same feeling happened when Teal was pushed down when she touched the envelope. She started to get dizzy and Allen and everything else disappeared. She saw an envelope with numbers on it and she could tell it was a bill. A very large bill. Everything can back and the writing on the envelope was gone.

"Allen, this envelope has a bill." Allen's face went pale.

"Wah? It was my master that gave you that! And how did you know it was a bill?"

Teal didn't know what to say.

"Er... I'm an odd job worker and I deliver these all the time." She said quickly. 'I got enough problems already and going to the psychiatric department is not and should not be on my list.'

"And since there was nothing else in the package, I guess I was the package." She laughed.

"Allen! Are you alright?" Allen nodded.

Teal looked to see who was calling. It was a girl in a black uniform that looked the same as the man she met the night before except the outlining was silver, not gold. She looked about the same age as Teal and had very long green-black hair that was in long pigtails.

"Are you alright too?" Teal nodded as well. "That's good. I'm Lenalee Lee; I am one of the exorcists here. Allen's an exorcist too.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Teal." Teal gave a peace sign. "What exactly are exorcists?" She tilted her head a bit.

"You know that monster that I just destroyed? Exorcists are the only people who can destroy them." Allen said.

"C'mon, I'll take you to see my brother and I'll show you around a bit." Teal was a little bit freaked out.

"Whoa, hold on a sec. I don't think I can be an exorcist. I'm just a delivery girl from the wrong side of the road. No... Wait, that doesn't sound right..."

"But those ribbons on your arms might have Innocence. If you have Innocence, then you are an exorcist." Lenalee said. "We have to make sure. C'mon, follow me."

Teal followed Lenalee inside. "Hey pretty impressive." The hallways were long, the rugs were a solid black and red, and there were guards and those bat things everywhere.

"This is the Black Order. Exorcists and Finders live here and many here call this place 'home'. My brother will give you the details about the Exorcists and Finders later. This is the dining room...This is the hallway to the baths. On the right are the Ladies baths. We also have a library, an infirmary and personal living quarters."

"We get our own room?" Teal was extremely excited. "Also, how big is the library, Lenalee?"

"It's huge. The Order has almost every book that was written. You like to read?"

"Yeah, I love to read. I read and draw whenever I'm not working."

"C'mon, let's go this way."

"Hello there! I'm Komui Lee, the Head Officer of the Science department. And I am Lenalee's brother. From what we've seen, those ribbons might've been infused with Innocence. I need to ask you to activate them and then, I'll check what other damage was done."

Teal sat down on a stool beside a bench inside of a doctor's office. She looked around and there were many tools on the walls. They looked extremely sharp and Teal didn't even want to think what they were used for.

"Now, concentrate on activating your Innocence." Komui commanded.

'Innocence, activate?' Teal shut her eyes and tried to think on turning her ribbons into weapons. When she opened them, there were long blades on her arms and the edges were glowing a bright green.

"Excellent. Now try to hit this target from a distance." Komui pulled up leftover metal from an experiment and placed it against the wall.

"But... Wouldn't that destroy it? The wall, I mean." Teal asked.

"Don't worry. It's fine. I just want to see if your weapon could attack from afar."

Teal wasn't sure what to do. Then her body was moving on it's own and her head was giving her instructions. 'Your weapon can use attacks by elemental spells.'

'Spell of Water: Magic Tide' A wave of water came from nowhere and Teal was moving around her arms, controlling it. Then she moved her arms around and the water circled around the target. 'Freeze' The target was frozen solid.

"Not bad. But this is nothing compared to the battlefield. Now run up to it and destroy it." Teal ran up to the target as she was told but when she was about to strike, she slipped and fell. She got up, went back to the spot she was at then she tried again and destroyed the target.

"Is that it?" She turned to Komui. He nodded. "So how do I change it back?" She asked.

"Same way you activate it. Just focus them changing back to normal ribbons wrapped around her arms."

Teal was focusing on it again but this time, she kept her eyes open and the blades were hovering in midair and they transformed into ribbons and wrapped themselves around her arms again.

'Wow...'

"Now, time for your medical exam." Komui walked around Teal and there wasn't as much as a scratch on her, despite of her getting shot and falling out of a tree. Then when he asked Teal to roll up her sleeves, he saw three faint crosses on her wrist.

"Teal, how long have you had these cuts?"

Teal didn't want to tell him. She was looking forward to becoming an exorcist and if he knew what those marks were, they'd throw her out.

"They're birthmarks" Teal didn't exactly lie. She was told that she was born with a cross but she has three now.

"How old are you?"

"16."

"Do you have any family?"

"I have a father in Southern France but I haven't seen him in a few months."

"Do you have any special abilities?"

"Well, for some reason, I have a really rapid recovery rate but I wouldn't call that special. And recently I'd had these visions. Like when I bumped into that guy, that's how I found out about that bomb. And I remember the other day I had this vision about someone getting killed in some town after I bumped into another person and then later when I came into the town, I saw the exact same guy, just lying there in a pool of blood and he had black stars on his skin. I thought it was a coincidence so I ignored it. I sound like a crazy person, don't I?" She slammed her head on the table.

"No, not at all. There are a few people with abilities and they may come in handy when battling." Komui smiled.

"Like what?" Teal looked up at him.

"Like... um... Well, I can't really say for sure but you're not the only one. I suggest that you talk to an exorcist called Bookman and he could help you out there. Unfortunately, he's on a mission and won't be back until later tonight or tomorrow."

After her examination, Komui escorted her to an elevator. It was fairly unusual. There were no cords attached and it was floating on its own. Komui pulled down a lever and they descended to a dark area.

"Komui, what is this place?" Teal asked with a fascinated look on her face.

"This is a place where we check your Innocence; how strong it is."

"How do you do...?" Some thing grabbed Teal's arms and legs and lifted her in the air. "That?" She finished.

She looked at what grabbed her. They were silvery white tentacles. Teal looked up and she saw this thing that kind of looked like a woman. She didn't have eyes because where her eyes are supposed to be is covered by hair.

"Don't be afraid... I am you're ally. My name is Hevlaska. I am an exorcist as well." Hevlaska brought her head close to Teal. Teal saw the symbol that she had seen all around the Order. Hevlaska placed her head on Teal's head.

"The Elemental Blades... A soldier of life is born today..." She place her forehead against Teal's and started to mutter some percentages.

"You're maximum synchronization rate is 78%... This is unusual..." Hevlaska placed Teal back on the elevator.

"What's up, Hev?" Komui asked.

"Your Innocence is still new to you and you have a somewhat high synchronization rate... That's normal. The strange thing is... I sense another presence inside you."

'It's that woman...' Teal clenched her fist.

"It is powerful... But it is nothing to be feared. If you find the true purpose of this presence, it will bond and increase your Innocence's power."

"Another... presence?" Teal asked. 'That woman is dark. I doubt she could be the presence.'

"Yes. I can't say exactly what it is but in time... I'm sure it will light your path."

"Komui, what is Innocence?" Teal turned her head to Komui.

"This all began thousands of years ago. A 'cube' was discovered. Inside the cube, a prophecy from an ancient civilization was discovered and instructions on a certain material. The cube was made of the certain material as well. It was known as 'Crystals of God' and possessed strange powers. We call this 'Innocence'. The Innocence that has been processed and converted into a weapon is known as an 'anti akuma weapon'. The creator of the cube says that they defeated the Earl and his demons using the Innocence. But then, the world was destroyed. In the Old Testament, this was known as the great flood. In the cube chronicles, this was known as the three days of darkness. The cube has a prophecy that the three days of darkness will return but this time, at the hands of the Earl. The Earl has returned and the New World Alliance has decided to obey the message of the cube. And they created the Black Order. Those who acquire the power of Innocence are called 'accommodators' or exorcists. The Earl has created an army to destroy God. The army is made up of akuma, a machine like demon. If Innocence is 'light' there has to be something 'dark' to balance it. The dark matter is what creates akuma. If an akuma evolves, the dark matter becomes stronger and harder to destroy. The Earl is planning to destroy the Innocence to avoid its resurrection. There are 109 units of Innocence and they are scattered throughout the world. We must recover the Innocence to gather enough strength to defeat the Earl."

"Wow, that's amazing. Who is the 'Earl'?"

"He's a man who plots to destroy the world. Very few have seen him but he is very deadly. He is the leader of a party called the 'Noah Clan'. They have super natural powers and can destroy Innocence. We've only encountered one so far. So basically, you have to fight. Understand?"

"Yep. I'm always up for kickin' some bad guy butt. Count me in!" She gave him thumbs up.

"Welcome to the Black Order, Exorcist Teal." Komui smiled and shook Teal's hand.

Some time later, Teal met up with Allen and Lenalee. "Hey," called Lenalee, "Do you understand about Innocence and the Exorcists?"

"Yes I do. Thanks for asking. And Hevlaska said my synchronization rate is 78%."

"Do you want to meet the other Exorcists?" Allen asked.

"Not right now Allen. I am so tired and I want to turn in. I'd love to meet them tomorrow."

"Alright, goodnight!" said Allen and Lenalee.

"Night!" Teal smiled at the two exorcists and walked to the personal rooms. 'Maybe this presence will help me defeat that woman. The price is pretty high for me but if it means getting rid of her for good, I'll put my faith in God.'


	3. A Missing Piece

A Missing Piece

"Thank you, sir, we'll take care of her here."

'Where… am I?' I felt my head turning and I see a man covered in shadows, like that woman, walking into a silver storm.

"So, what's your name?" The woman came to my eye level. She was dressed in black and looked elderly.

'My name is Teal.' I hear myself think. Nothing came out, my throat hurt from crying so much. This woman is a stranger. This whole world is strange. What is the world? I thought for a while and there was nothing.

"Shy are you? I bet once you make a friend, you'll feel better. And you can always come to me if you need anything."

*bzzzt*

'Something's over here. Something is telling me it's good. Is it that person leading me somewhere?'

"Sweetheart, you can't go there. That's the boy's dormitory." There is a light at the end of the hall. There's some kind of chatter that is echoing throughout the hall even though everyone's in the play room or getting something to eat. I pushed the door a little bit out of curiosity. There were two boys sitting on a rug. Their faces were covered in shadows. One of them turned to me and was startled.

"Who's there?"

"Get lost!" The other one shouted as he opened the door then his anger suddenly faded. The boy standing in front of me had black hair.

I was scared and I wanted to run but another feeling was overwhelming and it swallowed my fear and I stayed. I started going in the room to get a look at the other boy. This one had blond hair.

"What're you doing here? No girls are allowed here."

"Sorry, boys." The elderly lady was standing in the door. "This girl arrived a few hours ago and she's very curious. Dear, this is *bzzt* and that is *bzzt*"

*bzzt*

"EEEKKK!" 'It's like that woman. Creatures like that woman'

Teal woke up with a start. She was in her room at the Black Order. It was fairly large but it had very little furniture in it. There was a dresser, her bed and a closet. Teal had a window right above her dresser with stained glass and blinds. Above all, she had a pretty good view of the area that the Order overlooked.  
It was hardly even dawn.

"That dream again." She was panting. 'Those shadows are so like that woman. Why can't I see past them? Perhaps she's angry that I'm an exorcist. Well, that's good enough for me. I will become a strong exorcist and I'll defeat her once and for all. Nothing else matters than that.' She went to her dresser and looked at the clock.

'Wow, it's like 5 in the morning. I went to bed at 7 ish? That is the best sleep I had in a long time. I think I'll explore, train and then get some breakfast."

After Teal did her morning routine, she started to wander around the Order. 'I wonder if anyone else is up. It's like 5 so I better not wake them.'

She wandered into the forest outside the Order. "Heh, pretty cool." She tripped on a big root. The forest suddenly disappeared and Teal saw someone moving around blind folded, slicing his sword at leaves in the spot she was at. The forest suddenly came back.

She climbed up one of the trees. Less than a minute later, the guy she saw in her vision was blindfolded, slicing his sword at leaves and jumping over the big root she just tripped on.

'This has GOT to be a coincidence. I guess my ability can activate by touching items too.' She said to herself. The guy stopped for a second and looked her way, and just said 'che' and went on. 'He's a grouch.' Teal stretched a bit and activated her Innocence. 'What other spells can I do?'

Later that morning…

"Hey Allen, did ya hear? There's a new exorcist that came in yesterday. I got in late from a mission and I didn't see him," Lavi excitedly exclaimed. Lavi was an 18 year old boy who has red hair and an eye patch on his right eye.

"Her, you didn't see 'her' Lavi," corrected Allen.

"A new female exorcist? Sweet! What's she like?"

"You'll see for yourself. Right now, I'm starving."

"Aw, c'mon Allen!"

"I'm hungry. Which way is the cafeteria again?" 'That felt good. It feels weird having these things on my arms but they're swords and that is my specialty.'

"Morning Teal!" Lenalee was walking down the hallway. Teal turned and waved to Lenalee.

"Morning Lenalee! How are you?"

"Fine, did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Um, you know which way is the cafeteria? I get lost easily and I can't remember where everything was on that tour."

"I'm heading to the cafeteria so I'll show you."

-  
"Seriously Allen, I don't know how you manage to eat that much." Lavi said with slight disgust.

"Guys like me need a lot of energy and therefore, we have a big appetite. Plus what I don't eat, Timcanpy will eat." Allen pointed his fork at his golden golem that was flying by his head.

"Morning Allen, Lavi!" called Lenalee. Before Lavi could respond, the other girl with Lenalee was the only person he could see. Lavi gets excited when he sees any girl. She looked like she was taller than Allen but slightly shorter than himself.

"Hi, my name's Lavi." He grinned at her.

"Uh, nice to meet you, I'm Teal. I'll be right back." She said nervously. She wasn't used to being around people. It was something she had to get used to pretty quick because she would be living here for who knows how long.

"Here you go Lenalee, who's next? Ah, a newcomer." As Teal came to the counter, she met Jerry the cook and couldn't tell if he was male or female.

"Nice to meet you." She replied politely.

"I can make you anything you want. Just name it."

"Ok." 'Anything?' "Um… I would like fruit salad, scrambled eggs, spring rolls, hash browns, pancakes, 2 rice balls and um… mango juice please."

"Done!" That was the fastest time anyone has made food that Teal has ever seen.

"And Teal, right? If there's any 'female' stuff you want to talk about, I'm your guy."

" Uh, thanks." She took her plate and sat down with the other exorcists. 'What kind of female stuff does he mean? I'm not so sure he's a guy.' She noticed that Lavi and Lenalee were gesturing her to come sit with them. Allen was buried behind a mountain of plates.

'Oh boy. My favorite part: Interrogation.'

"So, where you from Teal?" asked Lavi as she sat down. 'Doesn't even let me eat a bit first. How annoying.'

"I'm from a town in France that's not too far from the Italian border. I think it's… Menton… or something like that."

"You lived there your whole life?"

"No… Only for five years. After I quit my gang, my father and I moved there."

"A gang? You mean you were a yanki?" Lavi asked.

"Yeah. But I've changed most of my ways." 'I just blew it.' Allen was hacking up something and banging on his chest. Teal narrowed her eyes slightly at him and stabbed her scrambled eggs with her fork. So what, she was a criminal once, big deal.

"Well, that's good. The Order's not that picky about backgrounds." Lenalee smiled.

"Allen, are you okay?" Allen was still hacking on his food. "Geez, don't wolf down food so quickly." Lavi said to him.

'Oh. I wasn't me, I guess.'

"I'll go and get him some water." Teal volunteered. Teal wasn't looking where she was going and she ran into someone. Next thing she knew Allen stopped hacking and everyone was backing off except Lenalee.

Teal cautiously turned her head and there was this tall person right in front of her and she never seen anyone this angry in her life. He unsheathed a sword that was on his belt before she could blink and it was extremely close to her face.

"Watch who're you're messing with, newbie." The person growled.

"Look, I'm sorry, it was an accident." She said passively, not looking the person in the eye.

"Accidents don't happen. It was stupidity that happened. Watch where you are going."

"Hey, who're you calling stupid?" She shot back. Teal kind of has a temper and the consequences are disastrous if she lets it get too far. Just seeing this person somehow made her more irritated.

"Who do you think newbie? Watch who you're messing with." He growled and didn't lower his sword.

"I should say- never mind. You win." She could feel her anger rising but she dropped the argument with this person before it got out of hand. She grabbed her last rice ball and excused herself from the hall.

'Note to self: Work on anger management. The second they find out about her, they'll throw me out.' She thought as she jumped on the balcony railing. 'Not that I don't really want to be. I don't need more trouble as it is already.'

"Hey," Teal jumped as Allen came out of nowhere. "Something wrong? You just took off."

"It's nothing. It's one of those situations where it's better to avoid the fight, y'know?" She smiled nervously. Even though Allen was just talking to her casually, she was still somehow irritated.

"Smart move." Allen smiled. "If there's one person here you don't want to mess with, it's Kanda."

"Hey! Allen! I'm heading to the library, you comin'?" Lavi called.

"I'll be right there. Hey, you wanna come along?" Allen turned his head to Teal.

"Sure. I don't have anything better to do." As she was following Allen, she couldn't help but stare at his hair.

"Hey Allen,"

"What is it?"

"Are you an albino?" The question just came out of her mouth. She was curious but she couldn't think of a more polite way to ask him why he has white hair when he's so young. 'Ah great, I think I just offended him.' "Actually, never mind." She said quickly.

"It's alright. I get that sometimes. It's actually a curse." He smiled at her.

"A curse?"

"Yeah, that's right. Curses do exist. And humans are the only beings in this world that can get cursed. So how'd this come up, Allen?" Lavi put his elbow on Allen's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"My fault. Word vomit. I apologize." Teal barely raised her hand.

"Wow. A whole explanation less than ten words. I'm starting to think that one of us is making you nervous." He grinned.

"Well… Yeah. This is nothing compared to what I'm used to, I hardly know anyone, and that's all I can think of."

"Okay then, what are you used to?" Lavi asked as he gestured Allen and Teal to follow him.

"Traveling a lot, small living space, keeping- Oh crap."

"What?"

"I forgot to write to my master that-"

"You can't write to anyone, letting them know you're an exorcist." Lavi interrupted her and his tone of voice was very cold and serious. "Unless if they support the Order or plan to, you can't tell your family or your friends that you are an exorcist or anything about the war that you are fighting in."

"What? Why?"

"It can make them vulnerable to becoming the Earl's victims." When they arrived at the library, a short elderly man in an exorcist uniform was standing in front of them.

"You're late." He glared at Lavi.

"Ehehe, sorry Panda."

"You idiot! When I tell you to be here on time, be here on time!" He hit Lavi so hard that Lavi was knocked off his feet.

'He's scary for an old guy.'

"Excuse me, but how would that make them more vulnerable? Is it that big of a deal?"

"Yes it is. You're the newest exorcist, correct?"

"Yes sir. My name is Teal."

"I am Bookman. You have a lot to learn, Miss Teal. Do you know exactly what an akuma is?"

"A monster in human form?" 'That's basically how I understand it.'

"Partially. They are born of tragedy, and if one's sorrow becomes too great, the maker, the Millennium Earl will bring a departed soul back in this world forever and it will kill endlessly unless if it is stopped by an exorcist. Unfortunately, there are many in this world and they all wear human skins as disguises so it is not easy to tell them apart from ordinary humans."

"So what you're saying is that if I told my friend that I was in this war, an ally of the Earl may come and kill them?"

"It could happen." Allen said. "However, the main purpose is to protect the members of the Order from becoming akuma. If their families receive word that a member died, they may create an akuma out of you and vice versa."

"Oh." Teal gave a sigh. "But if I kept my mouth shut about this, would it be alright to see them?"

"If you know what you are doing, then yes." Bookman said.

'I think I've underestimated the position I'm in. From what I've heard this is not an ordinary war. I don't want Shishou involved in anything like this. So, I'll fight to protect them. Oh yeah, I almost forgot.'

"Hey, Bookman. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" They walked to a corner away from Allen and Lavi's earshot.

"What is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Uh… Well… I've had these visions."

"What sort of visions and do they happen often?"

"I'm not exactly sure. The first one I had is when I bumped into that guy and that's how I knew about the bomb. It was like I was reading his mind when he was preparing it. And this morning, when I tripped over a root, someone was training nearby and a minute or two later, the guy came by."

"Memory dimension." Bookman said bluntly.

"Come again?"

"It's an ability that allows a user to see past or future events using 'memories'. You may not know this but there are more to memories than you think. Everything has a memory. Memories of past events and memories that are yet to come are in everything. Learn how to use this ability and it'll be great value to you."

"Does anyone else have this ability?"

"There is one person who was somewhat infamous for that ability that I can think of, however she died a very long time ago. Psychics and seers might have acquired that ability but true seers and psychics are extremely rare."

'Well, THAT'S reassuring.' "Thanks Bookman." Bookman nodded in acknowledgement as Teal walked back to Allen and Lavi.

"You done?" Lavi asked. Teal nodded.

"The library's a lot more crowded than I'd expected it to be." Teal changed the subject. "Although, it seems a little gloomy." She was looking at the exhausted Science Department workers.

"Heh, yeah things move a little slowly around here but occasionally Komui shakes things up with his crazy inventions. Just like- OW!" Lavi got his ear pulled and was being dragged off by Bookman.

"You know what he was about to say?" Teal turned her head to Allen.

"I dunno. My best guess would be Sir Komlin."

"Do I even want to know what happened?"

"No. But you should just in case Komui makes another one. Anyway, Komui made this robot that specializes in working in the Science Department and helping exorcists and it went berserk and last time it destroyed half the castle."

"Yikes. That's worse than what I pictured." Teal muttered.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lenalee came into the Science Department with a tray of coffee that she was about to give to the scientists.

"I was just telling Teal about our encounter with Komlin."

"Oh, my brother's invention." Lenalee sighed. "I don't know what Allen told you, but please don't think badly of him. He has good intentions; honest. But it can go overboard sometimes."

"Heh, he kind of sounds like my master." Teal gave a short laugh. "Well… Personality wise but he's not a scientist."

"My master is a scientist. Or at least he was." Allen said grimly.

"You have a master too? What did he teach you?" Teal asked excitedly.

"He didn't really teach me anything. Sent me out into the battlefield and made me fend for myself. I'd really rather not talk about him."

"Oh, Teal! There you are." Teal turned and a Science member who had a perm was calling her. "Come here please so we can measure your uniform."

"'Kay." Teal followed the person into a medical room with height charts on the wall.

"Okay, just stand against the wall with your arm spread out and try to keep very still." Teal obeyed and stood against the wall for a while as the scientist was taking her measurements.

"Alright, I'm finished." He said as he was scribbling the last measurements on his clipboard. "Actually what's left is what kind of uniform you'd prefer."

"Aren't the uniforms here the same?"

"They do slightly vary due to what kind of weapons the exorcists carry and what is comfortable. What's your weapon again?"

"Swords on my arms. I'll wear what's required."

"Alright. Here, take a look at these designs and let me know which one you like and if you want to add anything to it." He showed Teal the uniform designs. The men's uniform was either a long cloak and pants or a short jacket with pants. The female uniform was a small dress with long boots or it was a jumpsuit. All the uniforms came with pouches on the waist for supplies.

"I'll go with the dress. It's similar to my part time job uniform so I'm fine with this design."

"Okay. And would you like to have anything to go with it? Like a poncho or something that you may want to use to cover yourself?"

"No thanks. I have a black coat that should work."

"Great. We'll have it ready in a few days." He smiled and dismissed Teal.

'Wow, really is something else. I didn't expect people to be this kind.' Teal smiled to herself.

"Hey Teal! We're heading to town, you want to come?" Lavi ran up to her and Teal could also see Allen and Lenalee who were also ready to go.

"Sure, why not?"

"Hey, you know what this means?" Lavi grinned. "We're going on a double date."

"Eh?" Teal had a blank expression on her face. When she blinked, Lavi was on the floor with a bruise on his head.

"Idiot." Allen muttered. Lenalee had her palm against her face and didn't say anything.

"Geez, I was only kidding." Lavi still had his grin.

'I really wasn't expecting anyone to be anything like this. I think I can adjust to living here.' Teal thought as she was trailing behind the other three as they were leaving the Order. 'However, I don't want to be too close. I just may lose sight of what is important to me.'


	4. First Step Forward

The First Step Forward

'It's already been a week and a half since I joined the Order. Time sure flies, huh? I really can't wait to go on a mission. I'm starting to get bored. It really stinks that I can't write to Shishou. I want to tell him everything… But still… I want to keep him safe. I don't want to make the same mistake twice.' Teal shook her head trying to dismiss her thoughts.

'I'm gonna head down to the cafeteria. The others might be already down there.'

After breakfast, Lavi challenged Teal to a match. Lenalee went to the Science Department to help out her brother and Allen wouldn't use his full strength against a girl but he came to watch. Lavi challenged her so she could get used to fighting with her Innocence. When Lavi and Teal entered the 3rd floor arena, Lavi started to explain the rules.

"Okay, first, this arena is jinxed. Both of our weapons are set at hit points when we enter it and there's a force field so we don't damage anything outside the battle field by accident. Whoever has the most hit points before or when time runs out, wins. You lose hit points when the other person hits you. And when the match is over, all injuries will be healed like nothing happened. Second, you can't heal yourself by any thing you have. With me so far?"

"Yeah, piece of cake. Best man wins and you can't heal yourself."

"Okay, good. Don't think I'll take it easy on you just because you are a girl."

Lavi activated his hammer, Teal activated her elemental blades. Lavi made the first move. 'Heaven stamp!' Lavi's stamp caused a lightning bolt to hurtle itself towards Teal.

'Spell of Wind, Sonic Steps' Teal's blades split in two and two green rings formed around Teal's ankles.

'From what I've learned about my Innocence, I can only fly quickly on the condition that waves are in the air or on the ground. Waves are created by sound and movements. Even the tiniest waves present will allow me to stand on the air. The more waves are present, the more speed I will have. The rest is up to my personal agility. ' She waited until the bolt was near her where the waves were at its strongest and dodged it.

'He can't hit me if he can't see me clearly.' Teal thought as she was in midair. 'Alright, time to change spells.'

'Spell of Water, Bubble Mask' Teal crossed her blades and created a thick fog around the arena. When she landed, the rings around her ankles vanished and reconnected with her blades as the edges turned a deep blue.

"Heh, pretty smart Teal. I wonder what other tricks you've got up your sleeve." Lavi said out loud. Teal pretended to run in a direction so Lavi would direct his attention in that direction and that his backside would be open.

"Nice try." Lavi said. Teal was going to strike him from behind and he blocked it and he sent her across the arena.

"Time out for a second, Teal. Striking from behind is a powerful move if it hits, however that's gonna give you serious damage on the front. It would work on enemies who are not very sharp, such as level one akuma, but with level twos, they'll assume that you'll strike from the back first thing if you disappear."

"Alright. Thanks for the tip Lavi." Teal replied.

"Resume the fight! Wood stamp! Remove the fog!" Lavi circled his finger and the fog was swirling around in the same direction until it vanished.

"Wow. You guys never cease to amaze me." Lavi's hammer came down and Teal dodged it and ran up to Lavi so she could use close combat. Lavi had trouble blocking her but he was finally able to send her into a wall with a big injury that was on par with Lavi's injuries Teal gave him.

"I see. You're specialty is close combat that's good." Lavi said as Teal was standing herself up.

"You think I need to work on that?" She asked when she got her breath back.

"No, you've been taught very well. I'm pretty sure that you can take down akuma with your skills. However, don't always rely on close combat. You have to use your Innocence's abilities as well. It'll take some getting used to but now's a good time to practice. From here on out, you have to fight with your Innocence's abilities, okay?"

"Alright." Teal mumbled. 'I'm so gonna die.' Lavi summoned a fire snake again and Teal used her Sonic Steps technique to avoid it. The snake struck at her almost instantly after she stopped somewhere giving her no time to strike back.

'This is really annoying. How am I supposed to attack it with my Innocence's abilities if I don't know what even half of them are? The only spell I got the hang of was my Water Spell. But I can't attack unless there's some sort of water present.' She noticed that when the snake was striking, moisture was starting to return and the fog is slightly coming back. She dove before the snake struck the wall and made sure the snake was following her when she was going to land.

When she landed, the snake immediately swallowed her and she was surrounded by heat that was worse than any place she's ever been and it started to burn her a bit.

'C'mon, just bear with it. Concentrate…' Teal closed her eyes and held her hands close to her face in a meditative position. 'If I can stand through this long enough, I'll strike back when it disappears.' Some instructions came to her head. It was telling her how to use a Fire Spell.

'Fire Wall: A defensive spell that will protect you from enemy flames and will unleash a wall to protect yourself from nearby enemies if wished upon.'

"Here goes nothing." Teal gasped. The heat was really starting to become unbearable and she didn't hesitate to use her spell. 'Spell of Fire, Fire Wall!' Her body started to glow red but she didn't notice any fire other than the snake. The heat was non-existent and all she had to do was wait until Lavi called it off.

'Spell of Water, stand by.' The edges of her blades started to glow a faint blue and her heat shield was wearing off and the heat was starting to get uncomfortable again. Her patience finally paid off and as soon as the snake was gone, there was more than enough moisture to use her other water attack.

'Spell of Water: Magic Wave.' The moisture condensed into water and the wave surrounded Lavi. The current that was created was too fast for him to escape through it but the top was still open.

"Little Hammer Big Hammer, extend!" Lavi positioned his hammer so he could escape from above. Teal motioned the top to cave in then stopped moving her arms to let it freeze Lavi. When Lavi's hammer deactivated, there was a faint light around them which lower the force field and the ice block melted.

"Nice fight, Lavi." Teal said as she helped him up.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. You nervous about going on to the field?"

"Yes. I wasn't expecting our fight to be anything like this. I thought it was just regular sparring. I don't even want to imagine what its like out there."

"You'll do fine. And you just got called in for a mission." Lavi kept on encouraging her. Teal turned and one of the Science Department members was calling to her. She followed the Science Department member to Komui's office. She noticed that Allen was sitting on the couch waiting to be briefed. Lenalee just entered with Komui and she gave both Allen and Teal the documents they need.

"Ah, good Teal you're here. For this mission, you two are to locate a missing person."

"That's not really an exorcist's job, is it Komui?" Allen asked. As he and Teal received the documents from Lenalee and immediately opened it.

"True but this person has been missing for a while and we'd like you to…" Before Komui was finished, Allen went white and tried to make a run for it and was screaming 'Nonononono!' but was stopped by Lenalee and Komui.

"Eh? What's gotten into you Allen?" Teal carefully opened her documents and there was a picture of the man who gave Teal her weapon.

"Um… Komui, he was the one who gave me my Innocence. He was in England not that long ago."

"Yes, Teal, our finders have spotted him briefly in Southern England but he boarded a train towards Germany. Then we lost track of him."

"Oh."

"Nonono! I don't wanna see Master!"

"Good luck!" Lenalee gave Allen a confident smile.

"Ah, Exorcists, there you are." A man dressed in a white uniform greeted them by the train station. "I was beginning to worry."

"Sorry, we got lost." Allen and Teal said at the same time.

"You better hurry. The train is on platform four. The next one won't be for another few hours."

"Alright. Thank you." Allen said. He was running towards the platform and Teal was trailing behind him. Just before they were getting on, Teal held Allen back for a moment.

"I think we're gonna have to ride in a cargo car or something because I know for a fact that they won't allow anyone on without tickets."

"Don't worry its fine. Because we're with the Black Order, we get access to most transportation and a few other places." Allen smiled at her.

"Okay." Teal followed Allen on the train and kept on thinking 'We are so busted.'

"Ah, you two are with the Black Order, correct?" As soon as they walked on the train, a conductor was right in front of them. "Follow me."

Before Teal knew it, she and Allen were in an extremely comfortable room with a large amount of space and with blankets and a pillow on each seat. The seats were more like lounging chairs.

"Wow. I didn't think you meant we'd get access to First Class." Teal looked around their cabin admiringly. "A little too rich for my taste," She jumped on the seat out of excitement. "But way better than the cargo car." She gave a smug expression.

"Yeah, that's one of the advantages of being an exorcist." Allen smiled in agreement. "So, how do you like your new life so far?"

"Oh, uh… It's good. Everyone seems to be… get along able. But I really think it's gonna get some getting used to still." She said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"That's good. Teal, I don't mean to pry but is there something bothering you? You seem to be tense about something." Teal hesitated for a while. She was debating whether or not she should talk to him. He was friendly and he looked trusting. In addition, if she started to come out of her corner, she would be one step closer on getting stronger.

"Well… Believe it or not, I'm still getting used to being around people. You know I was a yanki right?" Allen nodded. "After I changed, I knew that my actions would have consequences. The way I saw it, I wasn't really welcome anywhere. It's kind of a mental thing. This is the weird thing, I actually care about others even though they're strangers and I don't know how they see me. I want to do some good for people instead of hurting them."

"We're here for you. We see you as part of our family and we couldn't be happier when you joined us." Allen gave her a reassuring smile.

"By 'we' who do you mean?"

"I mean everyone in the Order. We help each other out, like a family. And if you ask me, I don't think that is weird, trying to protect strangers just the same as you protect your loved ones. It just shows how much heart you have."

"Oh." Teal smiled at Allen. "So technically, you say that we're like a family as in siblings?"

"More or less."

"So what does that make Kanda? The twentieth cousin-I-don't-know-how-many-times removed? I mean he doesn't seem to be like any person in the Order."

"Yeah, he isn't very sociable. Definitely an odd one out of all of us. But he's a valuable teammate, I'll give him that much."

Something golden shot out of the back of Allen's head and was fluttering in between Allen and Teal.

"There you are, Tim." Allen said.

"You gave your golem a name?" Teal received a star shape golem but it was nothing like this one. She doubted hers developed a sense of will like this one.

"No, my master did. This is Timcanpy." Teal held out her hand as for Tim to land on it.

"So can I ask what you're master is like? So far, my impression of him is not very good."

"Well, he's an alright mentor when it came to fighting akuma, but everything else was…" Allen hesitated and shuddered. "He was a complete jerk." That was all he could utter out.

"Okay. I think we can leave it at that if you want to."

"You read my mind. So mind telling me about your master or where you used to live?"

"Shishou is really kind." Teal gave an excited smile. "When I first met him, I thought he was going to let me have it because I was an outlaw. Turns out, he was pretty calm and when he offered me a home and to be educated, I thought it was impossible. He was a miracle worker and he taught me martial arts, and in my opinion, he's the best of the best!" Teal said quickly and very proudly.

"Wow, you really are talkative when it comes to your master. Why do you call him 'Shishou'?"

"Shishou means 'master' in Japanese. His grandparents or parents, can't remember which, somehow emigrated from Japan and he speaks Japanese often and he offered to teach me Japanese. It's kind of a code language between either me, Shishou or my friend who traveled along with us. Oh, and he also taught me French since we traveled around France, Italy and… maybe Austria?"

"Sounds very much like a father." They extended the conversation about their previous lives. Teal learned that Allen was in the circus and like her, he had a foster father. Allen also mentioned that he was an excellent gambler. Before long, the conductor came to their cabin announcing that they were just arriving at their destination. When they got off, they were supposedly in a market. There were many stands and buildings in the area and there was a well in the middle of the square.

"It's practically a ghost town. Why in the world would your master want to come here?"

"I dunno. Hey, look, there's someone. Excuse me," Allen called out to a man who was standing behind a food stand. He was very elderly and looked like he was scared to death or had no sleep. There was something about him that made Allen and Teal shiver. He looked like he would scare anyone. The man looked up and smiled at them.

"Ah, it's rare to see travelers here. That… That crest on your jacket!" He gasped.

"Hi, we were wondering if you could help…" The man bolted towards town and was out of sight before Allen was finished talking.

"Well, he was helpful." Teal sighed. "More work for us." There was a loud rumbling that seemed very close but there was nothing in sight. Teal checked the sky and there were very little clouds and it didn't seem it was going to rain soon.

"Please tell me that was your stomach." Teal said.

"No. Uh oh. I think we've got a problem." The rumbling was getting louder and louder and a mob of villagers emerged from a giant cloud of dust with pitchforks and other weapons.

"Run for it!" Teal grabbed Allen's arm and was going to use a tarp so they could get to the roof but they were surrounded quickly with no way out. They noticed that the elderly man was also in the circle.

"Wait, we don't want any trouble." Allen tried to convince the mob that they were no threat but before the exorcists blinked, they were being dragged off to some building with more villagers with weapons.

"Our prayers have been answered!" The elderly man cried joyfully. The mob that surrounded them spread out a little bit only to have more people surround them and apparently, they were all crying for joy. As quickly as the exorcists were brought in, they were tied up to chairs.

"You think that these guys might be akuma?" Teal whispered to Allen.

"No, I don't think so."

"Priests of the Black Order please help us." The elderly man confronted Allen and Teal once more. "My apologies, but we are in great need of your help. My name is George and I'm the mayor of this village. You see, a vampire has been terrorizing this village for many years."

'Vampire?' Teal and Allen glanced at each other with disbelief.

"I didn't even think that vampires were on our extermination list." Teal whispered.

"They're not."

"His name is Count Krory. He never shows himself by day, but the screams of his victims echo from his castle each and every night. People say that no one who sets foot in that castle is ever seen again." Allen and Teal shivered.

"A vampire in this day and age?" Allen was hoping this would be some sort of ruse or there could be some other explanation. The mayor gave them a gruesome death glare and he was not joking whatsoever.

"You were saying?" Teal shuddered as she saw the mayor's expression.

"As long as no one would go near his castle, Krory would leave our village in peace. Then one night, the first victim was an old woman who lived alone for years. Krory drained her until her body completely evaporated. Since then, he's killed eight others; nine victims in total. We were about to risk our lives and slay the Count, but the Lord has answered our prayers and has sent you two." Everyone was bowing in front of them.

"We're not here because of this vampire you speak of." Teal said nervously.

"We're looking for someone." Allen finished.

"No, that can't be right, tell us Monk, why else would you come here?" The mayor was extremely close to Allen and gave him another gruesome glare. While he was distracted with Allen, Teal managed to pull out a knife and started sawing through her ropes.

"We're looking for someone." Allen repeated.

"Oh, I see."

"I'll show you." Allen already cut his ropes and walked over to his suitcase on a stool where the villagers placed it. He pulled out a drawing of his master and gave it to the mayor. Teal was free of her ropes and joined Allen.

"Have you seen anyone who looks similar to him?" Teal asked. "Any information would be useful."

The mayor suddenly burst out into tears again and hugged Allen tightly.

"The prophecy… The prophecy came true!"

"Calm down, please." Allen looked very uncomfortable and confused. "Please stop crying." Teal intervened and pulled Allen away from the mayor. She turned her head to the mayor in confusion.

"A prophecy? What do you mean?"

"A while ago, a traveler who claimed to be a priest came to our village and asked for directions to Castle Krory. We warned him of the danger but he just laughed and continued on his journey. Three days passed and I thought the traveler was dead for sure but he returned as if nothing happened. Before he left, he said that if the Count started acting up, we were to inform someone with uniforms like yours."

"So your master did come here to see the castle, but what for?" Teal turned to Allen.

"Beats me. Must be something important though. Either way, I think we're gonna end up facing the vampire." Allen shivered.

"I was afraid of that." Teal hung her head.

"We'll help you." Allen sighed. Everyone cheered at their decision. What the exorcists didn't see was that there was something lurking in the shadows, and they were watching them very carefully.

"Hey, Mr. Mayor. I have a question. The victims that Krory killed, did they have anything in common?"

"No, I don't believe so. Follow me, Priests and I will show you to your rooms so you can prepare for tomorrow." The light in the gathering room was the most light they were going to get for a while. The pressure of all of the villagers depending on them couldn't be ignored and the image of a monster that could potentially be as dangerous as an akuma or worse made everything sink deeper into darkness.

"Here we are. I hope you are well rested for your fight tomorrow, and I bid you good night." The exorcists were left alone once more.

"Hey, Allen, I was thinking… Maybe this vampire could be an akuma?"

"I've never heard of a blood sucking akuma before. Speaking of, I haven't seen any akuma around either."

"Don't akuma look like humans? I mean, I know there's a possibility that there might be a few around but they wouldn't be stupid enough to expose themselves in front of a huge crowd when we're around, right?"

"Yeah but I can see the souls of akuma. It's part of my curse."

"Oh. I didn't even know that such a thing was possible. Well, let's do our best tomorrow. Night Allen." Teal smiled and went to her room.

'I don't like the idea of hunting this vampire. Somehow it makes me feel guilty. It makes me feel guilty both ways. I don't want to run,' Teal's throat started to tighten as she thought of a memory from a few years back. 'I'll fight with Allen, and I'll do what I can. But… the thought of fighting makes me feel worse than the thought of running away.'

'Don't…*bzzt* Come closer…' *Bzzt*

'This is why we were hated! This is why we were stuck in that place! This is why no one cares about us!' I could hear a boy's cries. His voice is exactly the same as the boys in the memory that I see so often but it appears to be one voice. It's odd to see, or right now, hear a boy cry. This memory, it's different from the one before but it still is unclear. I still feel my fear, I'm paralyzed, unable to do anything.

I want to run but this boy… There's something about him that makes me want to hold him. However, I saw something terrible in him, I saw the same horrifying creatures as that woman. My child self won't do anything. I'm stuck in between mixed emotions. I want to run. I want nothing to do with creatures like her. But he sounds so fragile; he'll break if something isn't done. I want to go and comfort him.

I will myself to go. He shouldn't suffer like this. Soon, I got my wish. I was almost there, I had to hang on to him, I didn't want him to leave. Before I could reach him, I hear an eerie voice behind me.

"Why? Why didn't you stay for me? Why did you run?" A boy whose face was covered in blood and his body horribly torn apart was standing in front of me. I looked down and I was no longer a child. I was myself. A monster appeared behind him, I have no weapon, no sword, no Innocence and I was the next target. I had no choice but to run. Before I started to run I noticed something in his chest, something that went through to his heart. I didn't see who did it. I have to force myself to wake up now, or else I'll be faced with this agonizing terror that could last for hours and I may not wake up to fight with Allen.

Teal forced herself to wake up and escape the dream. She wanted to get away from the horror, the monster. She wanted to get back to sleep in hope for that memory would return and it would be clearer. She wanted to see the boy once more and get him to feel that he was cared about. But the thought of seeing him, the older boy, kept her awake. She didn't want to see him in that form.

Teal pulled out a watch from her pack and checked the time.

'It's really early. I don't think I should wake up Allen just yet. Maybe I can look around a bit for anything that could help us.' She walked over to the window and was about to open it but she noticed it was nailed shut.

'Okay, these villagers are really desperate. Hold on,' Something shiny was in the corner of her eye and it was a pitchfork.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to barge in a girl's room?" This person wielded his pitchfork as if he was ready to kill her. His body started twitching and his eyes turned red, spike like objects emerged from his back and his legs were starting to disappear.

"Innocence, Activate! I don't need anyone to tell me you're an akuma." Teal sliced the akuma in half before it finished transforming. She headed for the door so she could warn Allen. She knew he could see akuma beforehand but how far can he see them?

There was another man outside the door with an axe and two more men broke through the window and transformed into Level 1 akuma.

'They're like balls with cannons?' They started firing at her and it was difficult dodging the bullets.

'Spell of Wind, Sonic Steps' The sound of the bullets created so many waves and it allowed Teal to move faster than the speed of sound and she destroyed all the akuma in her room before they could fire again then ran out to the hall. She found out that Allen was already fighting akuma as well. They started to flood the hall left right and centre. The only way out was the window at the other end of the hall.

Teal kicked one akuma into another, destroying the akuma and allowing her and Allen a brief exit route. If they could lead the akuma outside, the fight might be easier and any others in the building would be out of harm's way. The light was suddenly fading and another figure appeared in front of the window. Bubbles shattered and were flying everywhere as some akuma were retreating.

"What is that?" Teal shouted as she dodged and sliced the bubbles.

"That's a Level Two! Gah!" A bubble hit Allen's left eye and he couldn't see out of it. He crouched down because it was stinging like crazy. The figure at the window retreated and some level one akuma came back.

"You alright?" The cannons started to glow and Teal and Allen were sitting ducks. When they blinked, two of the akuma were destroyed. They whipped their heads around Lavi and Bookman were standing behind them.

"Hey guys, wha'cha gawking at?" Lavi greeted them.

"Your guard is down." Bookman said seriously. More akuma showed up to replace the ones that were destroyed and started firing at the exorcists.

"This isn't fair!" Allen growled as he was blocking the shots with his arm.

"What's not fair?" Bookman shouted. All the exorcists attacked and all akuma were destroyed.

"C'mon, there's another one out there!" Allen led the party downstairs towards the exit. The ceiling had caved in some places and ruble was almost everywhere. Bookman stopped everyone at the bottom of the stairs and found a man was underneath barely moving.

Allen moved the extremely large ceiling piece off of him and Bookman pulled him out.

"We should treat him and look around to see if there are others."

After a few hours, the exorcists turned up empty handed. No other villagers were harmed, and there was no sign of any more akuma. Allen and Teal returned to the room where Bookman was treating the man. They were soon joined by the mayor and other villagers.

"Oh look." The mayor's smile grew bigger and bigger when he saw Bookman and Lavi. "There are two more monks now. This is very assuring. You all defended us against the attack against the… um"

"Akuma?" Lavi shifted his eye to the mayor.

"Oh yes. They were akuma. So you deal with demons and vampires?"

"Actually, we deal exclusively with akuma." Allen smiled at the mayor. Bookman was finished treating the man who was injured during the night and started to observe Allen's eye.

"That's funny. Your eye is as dry as a bone."

"Is that bad?" Allen asked.

"I'm not quite sure."

"So what should we do now?" Teal turned her head to Lavi and Bookman.

"Continue the search for answers of course. In order to do so, you must confront the vampire." Both Allen and Teal swallowed hard.

"Don't sweat it. You two are going to be fine."

"You're going with them Lavi." Bookman said bluntly.

"Say what?" Lavi's jaw dropped.

"Heh heh. Looks like you have to suffer with us." Teal grinned.

"Hey! This is not funny!"

"But before you three depart, I bring some very serious news from headquarters. Will you give us a moment, please?" The mayor and the other citizens left the room as Bookman turned back to Allen and Teal.

"This news came to us just after you departed. A few days ago, General Yeegar was killed."

"A General?" Allen was stunned.

"Wait, one of the guys that we first met at the Order when we were about to see Hevlaska was killed?"

"Those are the Grand Generals, Teal." Lavi said. "A General is an exorcist whose synchronization rate is over 100% and they are the most powerful exorcists in the Order."

"I see, so why would the akuma attack a General? Wouldn't that be plain stupid on their part?"

"Not exactly. Apparently, there's no doubt that the Earl is on the move. And the Earl and his forces are after the Heart of Innocence. It is the source of power for all the Innocence in the world and it has the power to destroy every single fragment. On top of that, it is extremely powerful."

"It does make sense that akuma would target a General because they would be a most likely candidate to control something that powerful. So the four of us, and Lenalee have been asked to search for General Cross. She's on assignment but she'll meet us at the next station once we leave this place." Lavi finished everything off.

At nightfall, many villagers gathered in the square awaiting the exorcist's arrival. The glow of the torches in the square was almost equivalent to the glow of a few dozen street lamps in a city.

"Well, are you guys ready?" Teal asked.

"Yeah. Might as well get this over and done with." Allen sighed.

"Bookman is gonna stay here. So we're on our own."

All three of them remained silent during most of the walk to the Castle. They were all alert and kept their eyes on what lay ahead.

"Hey, you guys," Lavi broke the silence after the castle was almost in sight. "Did you hear about this: If you get bite by a vampire, you turn into one. If that happens, our friendship is over."

"That goes both ways." Allen said.

"It'd kinda fun to be a vampire. Night vision, invincible strength," Lavi and Allen turned their heads to Teal with uncomfortable and disapproving looks on their faces. They heard a growl behind her and the mayor gave her a death glare that was worse than before.

"Kidding, kidding." Teal waved her hand dismissively. Teal suddenly noticed that the mayor and several other villagers were wearing candles, garlic and carrying wooden stakes.

'Now I'm afraid.'

"Everyone, stop." The mayor ordered. They were in front of a very large and ugly looking gate. It was supposedly was a sculptured person's head and the massive wooden doors were the mouth.

"No one who crosses this door ever comes out. Beyond these doors is the Count's lair." There was an echo of horrible wrenching screams that sent shivers down the exorcists' spines. None of them were too impressed.

"Lead the way." The mayor hissed as the gigantic doors moaned. There was still a fair bit of distance to the castle and on the sides of the path were more statues that were extremely bizarre. They were ugly and worn out. They were anything from gargoyles to mythical creatures from around the world. The echoes that were heard at the gate were getting louder and louder.

"Hey Allen, you took off your glove. Is there something we should know about?" Lavi whispered to Allen. Teal turned her head and Allen was starting to shake and his blood red hand was clearly visible. "Or are you scared?" He smiled devilishly.

"Scared? Hahaha."

"You're the one to talk, Lavi. Look's like your hand's getting twitchy."

"I'm carefree as a bird." Lavi laughed. "How 'bout you Teal? You know one of us can protect or comfort you."

"Hmph. You think just because I'm a girl I can't take care of myself?"

"He's kidding, Teal." Allen tried to settle the situation a bit.

"Oh." Teal's expression softened a bit. She wasn't used to these kinds of jokes let alone understands them.

"You better keep your guard up," Lavi swiftly moved behind Teal. "Cause you never know when he's coming." He hissed in her ear.

"Daahh!" She hit Lavi in the stomach as a reaction. "Dammit, Lavi." She wheezed. "Do that again and I'll aim for your head." Allen and Lavi both started laughing.

"What is so funny?"

"Your face." Lavi snorted. "Lighten up, Teal. We might as well have a little fun along the way."

"Grr…"

"Hold it." Allen was picking up something. "You hear that?" Lavi and Teal stopped and listened carefully. It sounded like rapid gusts of wind like a tornado was near. They couldn't see anything. The wind went past but still there was nothing.

"Whatever it was, its fast." Lavi had his hammer in his hand and scanned the area.

"Hey, something smells sweet." Teal noticed. They heard a shriek behind them.

"Franz!" One man cried. "He got Franz!" The exorcists ran to the man who was on the ground and looked to where he was pointing. A fair bit of distance away, the moonlight unveiled their target: Arystar Krory. All three of the exorcists were frozen in fear. The vampire had already bit Franz, his fangs were bared and his hair was sticking up like demon horns.

"So he's not an akuma." Teal shivered.

"Oh yeah. That'd be a vampire." Lavi uttered.

"Agreed. He's a vampire. THIS IS WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE MASTER!"


	5. Carnival

Carnival

All three of the exorcists stood in horror as the vampire had the bloody disfigured body in his mouth. His sharp cold gaze sent shivers down their spines.

"You have got to be kidding." Lavi muttered. All of the villagers whimpered and within a second, they all fled to the woods.

"What are we going to do?" Allen turned his head to Lavi and Teal.

"Beats me. I'd rather not fight him." Lavi said.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice." Teal sighed. "Otherwise, he's going to kill the villagers. I don't about you guys but I'm not just going to stand here."

"Innocence Activate!" As soon as all of their weapons were activated and they were facing Krory, he spat Franz out and simply laughed.

"Am I to understand that you're actually going to fight me? How very brave of you." He grinned.

"Remember if either of you get bit, we're through." Lavi said.

"That goes all around." Allen said. Krory bared his fangs and charged, more like glided towards the exorcists.

"I'll go first." 'Spell of Earth,' The ends of her blades changed to a dark green and she ran towards Krory. She did a back flip and when she landed, she sent out a wave of rocks to Krory.

'Did I get him?' There was a cloud of dust that was so thick, she could hardly see Allen and Lavi.

"Teal, you idiot, get away from there!" Lavi shouted. Something was approaching fast and Teal jumped to dodge it.

"Allen, he's heading to you!" Allen stuck his arm underground and sent another wave of rocks towards Krory. It was ineffective again. Krory was approaching Allen so fast and looked like he was going to bite him.

"No you don't!" Lavi used his hammer to move Krory away. "What's the matter?" He turned to Allen.

"He wasn't that fast before."

"How about we focus on slowing him down then hit him?" Teal gasped.

"You two try to keep him in one area and I'll get him from above." Lavi said. Within a second, Allen and Teal started to attack Krory with long distance attacks. Allen was the only one who was able to get decent shots.

"Big hammer, little hammer, grow, grow, GROW." Lavi's hammer grew to an immense size and came down on Krory.

"Alright Lavi! You got him!" Teal cheered.

"I think it's too early to say that." Allen said. When the dust cleared, he was holding the tip of Lavi's hammer with his teeth. They were all shocked.

"Holy crap, this guy's got some amazing teeth, don't he?" Krory was able to throw Lavi and his hammer to a statue behind him. When Krory regained his footing, Allen's arm came from under the ground and had a firm grip.

"Gotcha. Stop fighting now and you won't be harmed." One of Allen's claws was fingering the vampire's throat. Teal went to help dig Lavi out of the pile of rocks.

"You okay?" Lavi nodded. Krory was laughing behind them.

"What strange little brats, to think that you were able to face me head on and still draw breath. You must be monsters as well."

"Not exactly." Allen gave half a smile. "You're fighting exorcists."

"Really? Exorcists, fascinating. I wonder what your blood tastes like." He sank his fangs into Allen's claw.

"Oh, dammit, Allen. He's-He's got your blood." Lavi was freaking out.

"Drop him! Drop him!" Teal waved her arms vigorously. When Allen let him go, Krory made a face of disgust.

"Why does this blood burn so badly?" He grabbed Franz and headed to his castle. Teal noticed that the villagers were peeking out of the trees then scampered back. She turned to Allen and he was tending to his finger. It was swollen and the bite marks could clearly be seen on his red hand. Both Lavi and Teal had very uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"I warned ya." Lavi moved back.

"Don't take this too personally." Teal said as she joined Lavi. Even Timcanpy moved away from Allen.

"Victory is ours tonight! The Black Monks made Krory retreat!" The mayor cheered. "Fight Clergymen Fight!"

"Excuse me, why are you standing so far?" Allen turned his head to the villagers.

"They're worried that you'll become a blood sucker." Lavi said. He was wearing a lei of garlic, holding on to a wooden stake and his hammer. Teal was behind him and Timcanpy was on her head.

"I'm not worried. I'm not worried at all." He grinned. "Hey Teal, how about you go ahead and make sure he's okay? After all, ladies first." He moved behind Teal.

"Oh nonono. I'm taking up your offer. You can protect me. Besides, age before beauty." She moved Lavi in front of her.

"What's the matter with you Teal? I thought you'd go for things like this in a heartbeat."

"Yeah but we are dealing with a real live vampire in case you didn't notice. And they are on my 'Things to Stay the Hell Away From' list. Although, I read about them almost constantly and that doesn't help much." She muttered the last part.

"Anyway, you should take a look at his bite mark. You might pick up something about the vampire."

"Eh? How am I supposed to do that? I'm not a doctor." 'He's nuts.'

"Your Memory Dimension. Isn't that why you were sent here with Allen in the first place?"

"Oh! That's right." 'I take it back.' Teal moved towards Allen. "Allen, may see your hand?" Allen let Teal touch his hand and after a few seconds, the dizziness started and everything disappeared.

'Where's Krory?' It was cold and nothing but pitched black darkness. She heard someone crying, it was a man, possibly Franz. She heard footsteps behind her but no one was there.

"Eli-Eliade. I fear that I've become a vampire again." Then everything came back. Teal opened her eyes and Allen was looking at her expectantly.

"Did you see something?"

"Not really. I heard someone say 'I fear that I've become a vampire again.' Most likely the count. And he was crying, I think."

"Rubbish!" One of the villagers heard her. "Of course the Count's a vampire! Why would he feel remorse if he's a bloodthirsty monster? He killed one too many of us!"

"Speaking of, Teal did you see Franz? Was he still alive?" Lavi asked her.

"I didn't see anyone. It was pitch black. I hate to admit it but we have to go into the castle to find some answers." She gave a small shudder.

As they walked up to the castle, the noises that they heard earlier were getting louder. They were painful screams that echoed on and on. Every time the screams started, the castle seemed to be painfully getting nearer like walking down death row to the execution chamber. Teal had shivers and she wrapped herself in her arms for the least bit of comfort. This was seriously not what she was expecting and she didn't want to spend one more second here.

'Here goes everything.' Teal thought. This wasn't exactly how she pictured her first mission. A dark misty night, shadowy figures around every corner and never knowing which one will come to life. That part was kind of expected and didn't bother her. Akuma were expected, she had a faint idea of what she was up against and wasn't really worried about that. Now there's a vampire and she was absolutely mortified. Anything within the supernatural creatures category was terrifying. Lavi wasn't helping any either by scaring her every two minutes. He has the bruises on his face to prove his moments of glory.

As they approached the giant doors and Allen opened them, they released a sickening sweet scent as the doors moaned.

"ACHOO! Oh Dod. Whad da heck id dat snell?"

"Geez Teal, keep it down will you? We want to find the vampire and sneak up on him. Not the other way around."

"Don'd you dink I bow dat? I'b allerdic to whatd-ever..." She found herself falling out of drowsiness but something stopped her in midair.

"Lavi!" Allen shouted. When Teal lifted her head, Allen was suspended in midair with a huge pink flower in front of him that materialized out of nowhere. She looked on the floor and Lavi was unconscious. More flowers materialized out of the ground and it was harder and harder to stay awake for Teal.

"Teal! Help me! Lavi's not getting up!" Allen was screaming desperately as he was blasting flowers.

'Let him die… Kill him…' That woman was near. Hate. So much hate. Kill Allen. Kill Lavi. Let them die.

"Shut up." Teal said. 'Kill him' "SHUT UP!" Her Innocence activated and she destroyed the three flowers that were surrounding her as she was freed from the strings that were holding her up.

"Aden, whad da heck are dese dings?"

"Man-Eating flowers! Lavi, help us!" Every flower that was destroyed by them seemed to be endlessly replaced and the sticky strings kept on attacking them. "Lavi, get up, please!"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" A voice shouted from above them. There was a beautiful blond woman in a purple nurse type outfit with a wheel barrow standing on the shattered rubble created by the flowers. "You wouldn't be destroying Arystar's precious flowers would you?"

Lavi finally began to stir and was bewitched by her appearance. He literally was sparkling in midair with a love struck look in his eye.

"STRIKE! Oh my God, she's gorgeous!~"

"Eh?" Allen and Teal turned their faces to Lavi and were shocked. This was the perfect time to fall in love. Not.

"Lavi… You freakin' idiot." Teal muttered.

"Lavi! Snap out of it!" Lavi was totally out of it. The woman kneeled down to Lavi's eye level and asked him something that Allen and Teal couldn't hear. Allen extended his arm and pulled Lavi back and Teal slapped Lavi's face to snap out of it.

"Hey, what's with you two?"

"You freakin moron! In case you haden't noticed, we're about to de eaden dere!" Teal shouted.

"This is no time to be falling in love, especially with a woman like THAT!" Allen hissed.

"You two are just children." Lavi smirked. Allen released him and they were all face to face with that woman. There was something eerie about her but none of them could quite figure it out.

"My name is Eliade." She said in a silky voice. "Tell me, what is your business here?"

"We're here to hunt vampires." Lavi grinned. Teal covered his mouth and hissed in his ear. "You are DOT helping de dituadion."

"We're here for the villager the Count took." Allen said.

"Villager?" The woman gave a thin smile. "I was going to bury him but if you want him… He's all yours." She threw Franz to a pile of man eating flowers and one swallowed him whole. Shortly after they swallowed him the flowers and the ground were shaking and Eliade fled.

"They're gonna blow!" Lavi shouted. They all ran to the nearest corridor but it wasn't enough time to completely avoid it. The explosion's range was so powerful that it blew up the wall and sent them through it. They landed outside on one of the edges of an inner wall, struggling to pull themselves up to the landing.

"We're pretty amazing, aren't we?" Lavi gasped. "I thought we were goners for sure."

"What's really amazing are these uniforms. I got away with only bruises." Allen said as he sat up.

'Come to think of it, these uniforms are pretty amazing. Very… Durable.' Teal thought. "Uh guys…" She pointed a shaking finger below them after Lavi finished puking over the wall. "You might want to take a look at this."

Allen and Lavi leaned closer to get a better look. The mist was clearing and eight crosses were emerging on the ground, surrounded by stones and dead trees.

"It's a cemetery." Allen glanced at it grimly. They all jumped down to get a better look. Eight graves. What could the Count have buried?

"Maybe it's for all the villagers." Teal said. "Didn't Eliade say that she was going to bury Franz?"

"But didn't he say Krory killed nine people?" Lavi folded his arms.

"Yeah, but the mayor said something about the first one evaporating, I think. Right, Allen?" Allen nodded in response and he lightly brushed his hand against one of the crosses and it collapsed. Lavi and Teal went ballistic.

"You broke it!" Lavi was horrified.

"Evil spirit, we mean no harm. Evil spirit we mean no harm." Teal was saying it as a creepy chant.

"Has anyone mentioned you're nuts?" Lavi asked Teal.

"Maybe once or twice." She turned her head away to one of the tombstones. "Curse Lavi for being an idiot back there and I'll give you some food after all this is done." She muttered.

"Me? Being an idiot? Look who's talking."

"At least I manage my time better to be an idiot. As long as no one gives me caffeine, I manage my time…" She muttered the last part but Lavi might've heard it.

"Hey, you two…"

"Well, excuse me for being a man. You're just jealous, Teal. After all, any man would go crazy for girls like her. With her figure and all." Teal went into a mental dark corner and curled into a ball.

'Ass.'

"Hey, Lavi, Teal…" They stopped their argument and came to Allen. "Take a look on the ground." As they leaned closer, they noticed pentacles on the ground.

"Are those… Pentacles?" Teal asked as she approached the grave.

"Could it be that there are akuma buried here?" Allen gasped in shock. Lavi and Allen moved around to the other graves and all of them had pentacles on the ground which confirmed Allen's suspicion.

"Hey, come to think of it, didn't pentacles appear on the flowers after they ate Franz? You think that the others are akuma too?" Lavi asked.

"Only one way to find out. Step back guys, I'll do the dirty work." Teal tried to put on a confident smile but the thought of bringing up eight coffins was down right creepy. 'My Innocence has the ability to control the four elements so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.'

"Innocence, Activate. Spell of Earth." Teal stretched out her arms as her blades formed on her arms with a dark green hue. It was a strange feeling, it felt like she was part of the earth with the energy coursing in and out of her. She set her mind on finding the coffins and there were eight of them around her. One by one she faced them and moved her arms in a steady rising motion and each coffin surfaced.

"Heh, thanks Teal." Lavi said.

"No problem." Once they opened all the coffins, they revealed decaying corpses but the skeletons were mechanic which confirmed Allen's suspicion.

"So he's been killing akuma. We're not hunting a vampire anymore. Krory must be something else. He may be-"

"Lavi!" Allen screamed as Krory was right behind Lavi. He was too slow to react and Krory hit him so hard he not only crashed into the wall, he took down the wall with Lavi unconscious.

"You three have made me very angry. You had your chance to leave but now it's too late." He flashed a fang grin. Within a blink of an eye, he disappeared. Teal picked up a gust coming from behind them and moved herself and Allen out of harm's way with not a second to spare but it didn't last long. The count jumped and hurled her to the ground when he got above her which made her struggling to breathe.

'Where the hell does he get that strength?' Once she regained her breath she noticed that Allen and the count have stopped and Allen was trying to reason with the count.

"I don't care about akuma. I only desire to seek my own happiness. With the lovely Eliade, we shall live in this castle for all eternity. And I promise, I'll kill those who get in my way." Teal took this as her cue to get up and get back in the game.

'Spell of Earth: Rock Wave' She willed the area in front of Allen to rise into a protective wall and hurtled them at the count only she hit him too late. He sent Allen flying into the castle, where it made another huge hole in the wall.

"You should know I don't go down that easily." She panted.

"You're such an annoyance, girl." Teal slowed down her breathing and thought about what she was taught in martial arts on how to stay one step ahead. 'Don't just keep watch for your opponent, feel the atmosphere around you.' With the count's speed it was difficult to keep eye contact but she managed to avoid another powerful punch from him and retaliated with some slashes from her blades. There was wind other than running from the count, blocking and avoiding his attacks and once she felt it, she used the wind to quickly gain height.

'Spell of Wind, Elemental Storm' She kicked in his direction and the count was hurtled back to the ground by a twister that materialized. 'That should be enough for payback but this is far from over and I don't know if I can do this alone. He's tougher than any normal person I've faced.' She thought as she landed by the twisted tree.

Krory was about to run towards Teal but changed his course of direction when a large hammer smashed the ground.

"Lavi!"

"You shouldn't turn your back on me." He had a smirk on his face. "So I'll just kick your ass now before we make nice."

"Interesting." The count grinned. Teal ran up beside Lavi and reverted back to her fighting stance. As they were chasing the count and attacking him with some success, Lavi started explaining akuma and exorcists to the count who look like he was listening with half interest.

"Akuma are monsters that disguise themselves as humans and you've been drinking the blood of akuma."

"Oh? And why didn't their blood poison me? I don't believe a word you said."

"Well, there is a case in which you wouldn't die." All three of them stopped as Lavi continued. "My theory is that you are an accommodator with a parasite type weapon and you've been attacking akuma subconsciously. I think those teeth of yours are made of Innocence."

"A-and if you join us, there's more opportunities for you if you like hunting akuma." Teal added nervously.

"Funny. I thought you two were going to have a conversation after you beat me." Krory smirked.

"Seeing as how tough you are, it is easier this way. You can give me your answer when you wake up, Fang Boy." Lavi smirked as circles started to appear around them, Teal recognized a few symbols as 'Fire' 'Water' and 'Heaven'.

"Innocence, Level 2 release! Fire Stamp!" Lavi smashed his hammer into a circle that said 'Fire' and a giant fire snake went for Krory but he jumped and it rammed into the wall. Then the pattern of running, fighting with no great attacks from either side resumed until Krory stopped suddenly and screamed in pain.

"What's up with him?" Teal turned her head to Lavi who shared her puzzled look.

"Nervous breakdown?" Then Krory started sobbing something then started banging his head on the tree.

"Yup, I think it's safe to assume that. But now's our chance to attack! Don't hold any grudges, kay Krory?" Teal smirked.

"Now it's my turn to shine! Pillar of Fire!" Lavi summoned his seals and an enormous fire stamp engulfed the ground and a snake engulfed Krory and sent Krory into the castle.

"Don't you think you might've over done it?"

"Don't worry. The heat's not on full blast. We better go find Allen." That's right. Allen didn't come back to join the fight.

"You want to hang on to me or are you okay on your own?" Lavi asked her as he was preparing his hammer.

"I'm alright. Let's go." As they went into the castle after Krory, Teal spotted Allen from another hole in the wall. Allen was blown away by something and was headed for the floor below but Lavi caught him just in time. When they landed on the floor, they saw Krory unconscious with Eliade who has him in her arms. Teal could not believe what she saw next. A mummy like thing was coming out of that woman. It was far worse than the decaying akuma in the coffins.

"Allen, that thing… Is that the soul of an akuma?" Lavi turned to Allen and Teal turned her head to Allen as well. She half forgot about his ability but his eye appeared to be healed as a gear like monocle was covering it. He nodded.

"It's so weird. I can see it too. It must be because of your eye."

Krory came to and also saw the apparition coming from Eliade.

"Krory! Do you see what is coming out of your friend's body?" Lavi called out to him.

"That is the soul of an akuma! Eliade is an akuma!" Allen continued.

'Seriously? Although, that does make sense. Maybe it's the akuma that attacked us last night.'

Eliade transformed into a long purple akuma that was quite ugly. Krory was still sobbing on the floor and unable to get up from despair.

"Ah! Not good! Fang boy is tired from fighting us! We have to help him!"

"Fang boy who's that?"

"Him! Krory!" Lavi was still freaking out and to make matters worse, the earth was shaking violently. Vines and red petals rose from the cracks and more carnivorous flowers appeared from the ground.

"ACHOO! Can dis night det addy worse?" Teal added another sneeze as she was avoiding the flowers by her Innocence.

The trio could only retreat from the flowers and could do nothing to help Krory although his battle did appear to be intense. The flowers kept on growing in numbers and they eventually caught the exorcists who were certain that they were going to be eaten and the first was Lavi who was panicking.

Teal tried her fire spell and succeeded in being released only to be caught by another flower and being ganged up by others who were mercilessly whipping her in retaliation.

"Lavi! Teal! Listen to me! I've dealt with these kinds of flowers before! They won't hurt those who show affection to them. Treat it as if it were a puppy!"

"Allen, are you serious?" Lavi shouted from inside of a flower, absolutely mortified.

"He just told you what to do, one eyed moron!" Teal snapped. "It's either your pride or your life now pick one!" All three of them started shouting 'I love you' over and over and eventually the flowers did back off. After a long agonizing period which seemed like several hours, the flowers finally stopped attacking then something odd just happened. Teal felt a drop of something roll down her cheek and looked up and prayed it wasn't another monster looming over them but it was rain. It was really unexpected to have it inside the castle but it did feel nice. She looked over her shoulder and Krory had collapsed on his knees, sobbing. The three exorcists walked over to him carefully.

"I-I want to die. I destroyed the woman I loved. What kind of monster have I become?"

"If it hurts so much…" Allen suddenly grabbed the Count's shirt. "Then why don't you become an exorcist? It's the duty of all exorcists to defeat akuma. You just destroyed an akuma named Eliade today. Her death will not be in vain, you will be saving a lot of people. That could give you a reason to live." After the Count calmed down, he lead the trio down a corridor while Allen was explaining the reason why they came here and gave him the drawing of his master.

"Your master did pay visit to my castle but only for a short time. He said he was a friend of my grandfather's and came to pay his respects. And he also returned something." He opened a door to a small storage room and found an empty flowerpot.

"No-no way!" Allen flinched on the sight of the pot. "That pot belonged to Rosanne!" Allen took the pot and was silent for a while, looking extremely depressed.

"Allen, are you okay?" Teal waved her hand in his face and he didn't respond. Timcanpy was munching on his head and he still wasn't doing anything.

"Don't mind him, he gets like that when he thinks of his master." Lavi said. He returned his attention to Krory. "All he did was return the flower?"

"Yes, but there was something weird about it. It bit me one day and died. It made my teeth fall out and new ones immediately took their place. Now that I think about it, that must be the Innocence you mentioned."

"Is there anything else that you could tell us about him?" Teal asked Krory.

"He said he was leaving for a long journey and asked me for money. He didn't say where he was going though."

"Hey, Teal. Did you see anything else?" Lavi asked her.

"Nothing more than what Krory has already told us." She shook her head and sighed. "We're back to an old school wild goose chase."

"Could I ask you three to wait outside for me? I'd like to accompany you on your journey and become an exorcist. I have to gather some things first." Krory gave a weak smile.

"Sure." Lavi replied. Before Teal left with the boys, she decided that she wanted to give Krory… support. What he had to do to Eliade did ring a bell, she knew what that pain felt like.

"Hey, Krory," She said softly. "If you want to talk… or uh… something… about Eliade… Just so you know, you can talk to me if you want… you don't have to but… it's just a thought."

"Thank you." He gave a small smile. "I-I don't mean to pry but did you-?" Teal gave a small nod.

"Yes. I was sort of put in the same scenario a long time ago. I can understand how hard this is going to be for you… But you know what? My father told me that those who truly love us are never gone."

Within a few hours, the exorcists departed Krory's castle, which he blew up after they all were safely evacuated, and the village whose residents couldn't wait for the exorcists to depart. They wouldn't listen to the explanations that Krory was actually hunting akuma and was trying to save people's lives. Bookman went ahead of them to meet up with Lenalee at the next destination so all that was left was to wait for a train which didn't take very long. Lavi quickly made a status report to headquarters before departing on the train.

The exorcists got settled in a passenger car and snagged a couple of seats. Krory was silently sobbing again has the village was vanishing from sight.

"C'mon Fang Boy, don't let this get you down. This is a good thing for you." Lavi tried to cheer him up. "It's the start of a new adventure; you'll have a new life and everything."

"Yeah but… It's hard to think positively and feel like you belong when everyone thinks that you're a monster."

"That doesn't matter anymore Krory." Teal said suddenly. "I mean you are different, and so are we, but who cares? We're a-friends now. We see you for who you are, not what you are and that's all that really matters."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hey, Fang Boy, how about you take a walk around the train to clear your head. You've never been on one before right?"

"All right. I'll return soon." After Krory left, Teal adjusted herself to lean against the window, ready to be taken by sleep as she was exhausted and the allergies to those kinds of flowers were not helping her alertness.

"Hey, nice advice Teal. I've noticed that you've become a bit more relaxed and open around us since you joined." Lavi smiled at her.

"Eh? Um… thanks. That's a good thing?"

"Yeah, it is. I personally like your real personality over your business personality where you have to force yourself to be open."

"Hm. Okay. Wake me up if we're being attacked or when we've arrived. Whichever comes first." She instantly fell asleep when she closed her eyes.

"Don't…Don't come any closer!" It's that boy again. Please let this dream lead somewhere. I need to know who he is.

"W-why?"

*bzzzt*

"This is why no one wants us! This is why we were abandoned! This is why no one cares about us!"

"I care about you. Please don't go!"

*bzzzt*

"If- if there's someone who cares about you, you shouldn't throw your life away. I won't let you die!" I'm hanging on to this boy as tight as I can. What is he to me? I have to try to remember. My heart is telling me he was…-is important in my life. Someone very dear to me. I must remember.

"I'm… afraid… Bu-… my friend…s" Friends… Huh. I may have been a terrible friend by forgetting you but I'm going to make things right. I promise.

"Who're you?" The scene vanished and it was replaced by a silhouette that was standing a fair bit of distance away from Teal. Before she could respond, the entire dream faded to white and back into reality where Lavi was shaking her.

"Mm? Are we there yet?"

"No, Fangboy's missing."

"Eh? Come again? On this train that only has FIVE CARS?"

"Hard to believe but yes. He's been gone three hours."

They immediately headed carefully to the next car over where they found Krory stripped to his boxers and three men who weren't a pleasant sight to look at holding cards as if they were playing poker. The exorcists caught their attention almost immediately.

"Hey," The man in the center with messy brown hair and glasses looked up at them. "No kids are allowed in here, this is a private cabin." Then he turned back his attention to Krory. "Now my friend shall we go for another hand?" He smirked.

"Um… No thank you sir."

"So Krory, you having fun?" Allen knelt beside Krory.

"Well, these men invited me to play a game called poker with them. And as you can see, it hasn't been going very well."

"C'mon, you already agreed to play us. If you're a real player, you'll see it through to the very end." The man with the glasses leaned towards Krory.

"Yeah but…" Allen held his coat in front of the men. "Go and take a look at my coat. The linings are made of real silver. I'll play a hand with you if you let me wager it for his stuff."

"Hold on Allen are you serious?" Lavi was appalled.

"Heh heh. Deal." As they started the first hand, Teal couldn't help but stare at the man in the glasses. He wasn't attractive by any means but there was something about him, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was like she met him somewhere but she never seen him before.

"Call!" Before she knew it, the three hobos were stripped down to their underwear and a pile of clothes were stacked very unorganized behind Allen.

'What the hell?' Teal's eye twitched as Lavi and Krory were staring in awe.

"A royal straight flush?" They shouted in unison as Allen flipped the deck between his hands, grinning.

"It looks like I win again." He smirked.

"Ah! Screw this game!" They shouted as they threw their cards in the air. Teal leaned back against a seat and smirked in triumph for Allen. Serves those bums right. If they pulled any tricks, Teal figured she would be the first one to beat the crap out of them. But this feeling that was coursing through her… It was an unwillingness to fight… What was the cause? Fear of death? Nah. She had to deal with close to death situations more often than the average person and she wasn't particularly afraid nor was she fond of the thought.

While pondering, something flashed in the corner of her eye. When she looked to see what it was, a handsome man replaced the man in the glasses, with slick back curly brown hair, a fine suit, and captivating gold eyes, it made her curious but it soon was replaced by fear because the shadow that looms over that woman was looming over this man as well.

"Ah, Teal?" Krory got her attention. "Your arm is bleeding. Is one of your wounds bothering you?" Teal felt a warm liquid run down from her hand down to her arm.

"Oh. Maybe I didn't tie the bandage tight enough. I'll be right back so I can fix it." She smiled at him. There was a bathroom right outside the door which she snuck in to then locked the door. She took off her coat and cleaned up her arm and dabbed her wrist with a paper towel, which it was painfully excreting more blood as if something was drawing on it.

'Three crosses. I wonder… Is he connected to that woman somehow? I'd recognize that shadow anywhere, he must be. No matter. I'll get rid of her one way or the other.' The train gave a powerful jerk as it came to a stop in which she was slammed against the door.

When Teal got out, Krory had his clothes back and Allen was sticking his arm out the window, returning the suitcases to the men. As the train started moving again, the man with the glasses tossed something to Allen and shouted 'Thanks'.

'That man… I can't shake the feeling that he's a threat. Not just to me, but to everyone else.'


	6. Secrets Lies Silence

Secrets, Lies…Silence

"You know Eeze, I went through a lot to get that for you, and it's made of real silver." The phone at the station rang. It was a public phone and it was extremely uncommon for it to ring for someone, it was the other way around normally. The man with the glasses picked it up.

"I got another job."

"Another one? You've been getting a lot of them lately." One of his friends snarled at him.

As the two men and the child were walking away, the child glanced at the man.

"Tyki, will you bring me more silver?" He nodded.

As soon as his friends were out of sight, the man walked towards a tunnel.

"I got your message; can we get something to eat first?" Another man appeared from the shadows. He was rather large, was wearing a top hat with a weird rim.

"We're having a family dinner, Tyki Mikk. It's time." The scruffy looking man changed his form into a totally different person. He had dark gray skin, gold eyes, dark curly brown hair and 7 crosses on his head. "As you wish, Millennium Earl."

'Why the hell am I dreaming about this place?'

A raven haired boy was sitting with his twin brother on their bedroom rug. They had just eaten and the other children were playing games in a room outside the dining hall but they didn't go. They NEVER interact with the other kids unless the teachers tell them too. The other children taunted them, isolated them and called them monsters for over two years. After the first couple of weeks, it didn't matter anymore as long as they had each other. Normally what they would do is just play a game with their own toys with each other in their own room until it was time for bed.

"Hey, Devi, check out the storm." His golden haired brother ran up to the window as soon as they walked in their room.

"Heh. Good. Then the wind will drown out the noises from the other room."

'What a boring dream. I've got a hell lot better things to do than go through this stupid dream again. What the?"

The scene changed quickly to something that wasn't apart of their daily routine. A girl was standing in the room with them. He couldn't see her face even though she was right in front of him. The girl reached out to him then stopped and screamed.

'Just go to hell then. People like you should just disappear. I really need to wake up.'

"Don't go! I…care about you." 'Did that girl just…?'

"Lord Jasdevi!" screamed a pumpkin headed umbrella. The raven haired boy, now 17 jumped from his top bunk and landed on his back on the floor.

"I'll murder you, you damn pumpkin head!" He shouted.

"Yeah, Hee! We'll kill you!" His brother laughed manically.

"The Earl has called a family dinner, so head down in the dining hall. Lero."

"Whatever, we'll be down in a few minutes."

"NOW! The Earl will be here shortly. Lero."

"Hee Hee, we will get down there when we are ready." The raven haired boy sat himself up and swore under his breath. He wasn't a huge fan of others waking him up as he liked to sleep in for a long time.

"You okay Devi? You were moving around in your sleep." His brother looked at him with worry. The two didn't look as identical as they used to. Their appearances back then were identical except for their hair colour now the raven haired boy has short hair and his brother has long blonde hair that goes past his shoulders. They were both wearing similar attire however. They both wore black boots with fur trimmings, black pants that had a crisscross pattern, although the black haired boy cut one leg off at the thigh and wore a garter. And they had makeup on but in different patterns. The blonde one had a more joker like style and the black haired boy had a small streak on his left eye.

"I'm fine Jasdero. Just had a really weird dream." He said as he put on his thick black jacket.

"About what?" Jasdero grinned. "I'll tell you my weird dream if you tell me yours."

"It was about when we were kids. That's not the weird part. The weird part was that someone didn't want us to leave that crap hole of a place."

"Was it a girl?" Jasdero tilted his head curiously.

"Yeah. Hey wait, how did you know?" He pointed at his brother. They may be twins and occasionally have the same mind, literally, but their dreams weren't always the same.

"There was a girl in my dream too but I don't know any girl that didn't want us to get lost or ran the other way when she saw us. You think we should tell Lord Millennium about it?"

"It's no big deal so we shouldn't bother." He dismissed his brother's idea.

"Lord Devitto and Lord Jasdero, you should get down to the dining hall right away." A maid passing their room stopped to make sure that they left.

"Race you!" They said at the same time and had identical grins. They bolted out of their room to the dining hall. Devitto beat his brother to the dining hall where their family members Road Camelot and Skin Borric were waiting for the Earl.

Road was a young girl in her preteens who was doing homework. The Earl sends her to a human school. Often she has much homework because she skips classes occasionally. For family dinners, Road is in her 'white' or her normal human form. She has dark violet spiky hair and was cute in appearance.

Skin Borric was a tall, muscular man who was 28. He had dark spiky hair and wanted sweet things to eat all the time. He was wearing a black tuxedo that looked like it was a bit too small for him. Devitto and Jasdero loved yanking his chain by taunting him about his obsession of sweets. He took a bite out of the egg that was served by the akuma servants.

"You stupid piece of junk! I told you to make it sweet!" He started to beat the akuma into pieces. Devitto and Jasdero decided to have some fun.

"Is it really that painful to try something that isn't sweet?" Devitto smirked. Jasdero came from underneath Devitto and threw an egg in Skin's mouth.

"If you really like sweets then maybe you should give this a try." He giggled as he threw another egg in Skin's mouth.

"Ah! It's still not sweet." The twins laughed together. Skin threw a pie at Jasdero and the food fight began.

"Excuse my lateness everyone," the Earl announced. Tyki was behind him. "Did something happen here?"

"Uh, no," the other Noah answered hastily.

After the Noah had finished their dinner, the Earl stood up and addressed everyone.

"Now's the time to make our move against the Black Order."

"Great, it's about time we killed some exorcists." Devitto made a fist showing that he was absolutely ready to fight. He and Jasdero have been stuck in the manor for a while now. All the missions that they were given turned out to have no Innocence and the exorcists had left before they arrived if there were any sent out.

"Is it time to make Jasdevi appear? Hee Hee" Jasdero pointed at himself.

"I dibs on killing Allen Walker!" shouted Road.

"Now, now, settle down. I'm giving you all a list of people to kill who were associated with 'him.' Do not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in your way." The Earl dealt 5 cards out to all the Noah. Devitto and Jasdero looked at their cards with boredom. Not a single one was an exorcist. No, wait a minute, at the back of their cards they were given the name of General Cross.

After dinner, the Noah all departed their separate ways. Jasdero and Devitto were lingering a little bit.

"You think we should ask the boss?" Jasdero asked Devitto. It was obvious that he was worried about the dreams of their previous lives, their past memories and can't ignore it as well as Devitto.

"Jasdero, they mean nothing. Maybe it was a side effect." Devitto knew that there was nothing but pain from their lives before the Earl took them in. So the Earl erased their memories. He knew that most humans who came in contact with Noah in their previous lives were killed unless if they allied themselves with the Earl or if they wished for them to be spared. But that girl did bother him a little. Why would she want him to stay in that place? He never cared about nor had anyone care about him except for Jasdero the Earl and maybe the other Noah.

"What are you talking about, Jasdevi?" The Earl asked. "Shouldn't you be off?"

"It's nothing important, Lord Millennium." Devitto was ready to leave.

"Boss, when you first found us and you erased our memories, does that come with a side effect?" Devitto clenched his fist.

"It's not important. Let's go!"

"Side effect? What sort of side effect?" The Earl asked.

"The memories that were erased, they're coming back to us, little by little." Devitto answered him. "I'm not that concerned because it's not like it's going to affect us, right?"

"Hmm… This is strange news to me. That should not be happening. Unless… If she has returned. Other than me, she only has the power to restore, erase, or manipulate memories in any way and I can not interfere. In a way, this may and may not be serious. Now, go."

-  
A few days later….

'Spell of Fire, Wall of Fire'

'Heaven Stamp'

'Misty Wind'

*bang* *BOOM!*

The Cross Unit was leaving India and entering China. It wasn't easy considering that there were larger amounts of akuma than usual. With Allen's new eye that lets others see akuma's souls, they were attacking more than they ever had. They quickly were able to make their weapons stronger with the number of akuma destroyed.

"Who knew that there were so many akuma in this area? We just arrived in China." Complained Lavi, he and the other exorcists were exhausted.

"Why would General Cross come here anyways?" asked Krory.

"Don't ask me," moaned Allen, "I don't keep track of what my master does every second and I'm not about to start now. I'm hungry." His stomach growled.

"We must not stop now," snapped Bookman. "It is vitally important we find the Generals. They could have the heart."

"What's the use of keep going non-stop Old Panda? We are all exhausted from fighting the hoards akuma and we need to rest." Bookman hit him.

"We can rest when we make it to the next town and when Timcanpy is found." Timcanpy has been swallowed by a cat and Lenalee was chasing after it.

"It shouldn't be too far, guys." Teal said.

"You know Teal, you can fly too, why can't you go ahead and it'll be faster? Your weapons create vibrations so you can go quickly right?"

"Yeah but I get lost easily, remember?" Krory and Lavi sighed. Allen was alert and he was scanning the area.

"Lavi, duck."

Allen's arm changed into a gun and began shooting akuma that were a fair distance away.

'Five'

'Four'

'Three'

'Two'

'One' Allen shot 3 level one akuma and two level two akuma. The second level two akuma didn't go down when Allen shot it and Lavi had to finish it off.

"Geez, Allen! You are starting to scare me more than the akuma do!"

"I'm trying to minimize casualties!"

"The way you're going, it looks like you are gonna kill us!"

"You should at least give us some sort of warning. 'Duck' is not a warning when fighting. You only say that if a mutant duck is about to attack someone." Teal scolded Allen.

"And where are we going to find a mutant duck?" He narrowed his eyes at Teal.

"Okay, bad example. Bottom line, 'duck' is not a warning."

Just then, Lenalee landed by them and Bookman jumped on Lavi's head.

"Welcome back Lenalee, I trust you were successful?"

Lenalee held up a cat with Timcanpy's golden tail sticking out of his mouth. The cat was so frightened due to Lenalee's speed. The cat spat Timcanpy out and left.

"Tim," Allen started, "you have to be more careful. We aren't going to find Master if you keep getting eaten."

"Teal, have you had anymore visions lately that had to do with Innocence or the General's location?" Bookman asked.

Teal shook her head. She hadn't had a vision in a while. Her dreams were the closest things to a vision but they still were vague. She didn't bother to tell her friends about them as they were irrelevant with the mission. At least to them.

"We need your ability and Allen's ability now more than ever. We need to find the Generals, the akuma and the Noah are after them."

"It's a lot easier said than done Bookman." Teal sighed. "I mean, I need something specific that is connected to General Cross so we might have a lead to where he's going. And God only knows where he's been."

"Also, there's a town not very far from here." Lenalee said. "We can rest there and continue on in the morning."

-  
A few nights later…

'Daisya Barry, Chaker Rabon, Kazaana Lido. Rats, none of them are on the list." 'I know that voice. This isn't one of my visions (I think).'

'There are two exorcists dead. There's another one. Who is that?' Teal saw another exorcist standing there, he was gravely injured. Teal saw that exorcist in the Order once or twice but never talked to him and she didn't know who he was. But when she saw him, she had an urge to kill him. He was weak, he was suffering and barely clinging on to dear life. Oh what a pleasant sight! One less vermin to deal with to working towards our goal.

What goal? That's not me. He's a comrade! He can't just die!

"What is your name?" Teal turned to see who the voice was. It was a man who was literally standing on water! When she looked up, she saw a terrifying demon like shadow. The sight of seeing that figure woke her up with a start and she was shaking.

"Bad dream," She looked around to try and occupy her mind on something else. Lavi was hanging over his bunk, snoring, Bookman was barely visible and Lenalee was cringing in her sleep underneath her. She climbed down from her top bunk silently so she could go outside. No point in going back to sleep. When she was going out, she noticed that Allen was gone from his bunk.

'Gone for a late night snack maybe?' She smiled to herself. Her new friends certainly were strange. Friends. Is it really alright to call them that? It's been almost two months since she joined the Order. She didn't really want to make friends, just to get rid of that woman. But these people can relate to her. They all have something in common with each other and her. She liked it. She liked to have people to get along with and who like her-for just being herself.

But there was her father. She missed him so much. She planned just to travel on her own-six months tops then she would return to their home on the French-Italian border on the Mediterranean Sea. She sighed as she thought of it.

They moved there five years ago after he adopted her. It was a beautiful town that was surrounded by mountains and the Sea. The town was very multicultural and had groups from all over the world. Her father owned a small house that was big enough for Teal, himself and a son of her father's friend that traveled with them.

She fell in love with the town at first sight. The beauty, the music and the arts that made the city alive was captivating. She was nervous interacting with the locals first but she found herself at ease. They were friendly and welcoming and even the most rugged looking people were kind. And occasionally someone might pick another person's pocket but they'd risk being tarred and feathered.

There was a kind old Ukrainian woman 'Baba' who lived on the edge of the marketplace that was facing the sea and she served the best soup and perogies. But now that she was an exorcist, any outside family or friends could be killed if they knew.

Teal put on her uniform and her coat over her uniform and went outside. It was warm and the wind was calm. The streets were abandoned, not even stray animals were out. However, night animals could be heard but they were not in sight.

'It's so peaceful. The akuma have been keeping quiet ever since we came into China. I wonder where in China we are now.' Teal stared at the sky. 'Such a beautiful night. I'm kinda disappointed though. I was hoping to see a panda. Oh! A shooting star! You're supposed to make a wish when you see one, right? I wish…' She shut her eyes and wished that her dreams would lead to something. Next thing she knew was that her head was searing with pain and she fell on the ground.

'Return… Return… Family…' There was an eerie voice echoing from somewhere. Teal couldn't figure out what it was saying. 'Mem…*bzzt* No…*bzzt*' There was a flash of light all of a sudden then it went dark. There was an echo of a voice somewhere but she couldn't see anyone. A flash of light brought her back to the real world and the first thing she saw was someone bending over her and the second she moved her arm, the person panicked and ran off. She patted her coat pockets and her wallet was gone.

"You bastard!" She stumbled as she got up and ran after the robber. Fog was starting to form and it was getting harder to see but she was close enough to see him and where he was going. She cornered him in an alley and there was no escape.

"Give me my wallet back otherwise you're not gonna be able to sit for weeks." Teal said as she put her fists up. The robber just laughed and drew a handgun and pointed it at her. Her eyes widened and she gritted her teeth. In this situation, even with her skills, you always retreat if someone has a gun. The bullets are small and there's no telling where it will hit. She didn't really care about her money but some of her pictures were in it and she wasn't going to back down.

"Step aside otherwise I'll blow off your ugly face." He grinned. "It must be pretty important otherwise why would you chase after me?"

'I don't want to use my Innocence. Here I go.' She ran in a zigzag pattern and as she was coming up to him, he shot her in the shoulder. She retaliated by kicking him in the air then kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. She caught her wallet as it was falling in the air.

"You little!" He took his gun again and she tried to pry it from him before he could shoot her again. He was too strong for her and her shoulder felt numb. She found herself backed up against a wall with his gun on her throat. She was ready to kick him back when he fell to the ground in a pool of blood. She clung to her shoulder then started to massage it to get some blood flowing again.

"You should know better than to go empty handed in a gun fight." Teal turned around and a spikey haired figure was approaching her from the fog. As the person was coming closer to her, she noticed it was a boy not much older than her. He was odd looking, with his makeup and his clothes. And he had a smirk too that made him look conceited. "And you know, without me, you probably would've-" Definitely conceited.

"You idiot! I was doing just fine."

"Oh sure. And getting your head blown off was all part of your plan? That's no way to thank your hero." Add arrogant to that list.

"You're right. Thanks for saving me." 'Just apologize and get away from this idiot. So what if he's (somewhat) good looking? An idiot's a idiot.'

"That's a little too quick. How about we have a conversation? That way I might forgive you for being so cheeky."

"I wasn't aware it was a crime. So what are you doing out here at this time of night? It's not such a good idea."

"I should ask you the same thing." He smirked. "A girl like you shouldn't be in a dangerous area at this time of night."

"I can handle myself just fine, thank you." She hated it when people thought she was weak just because she was a girl.

"Oh sure you can. And I'm sure getting shot is all part of handling yourself."

"Eh, I've been through worse." She shrugged which shocked him. 'Did she get her head hit pretty hard too?' "One lousy bullet isn't enough to stop me. Besides, fall seven times, stand eight right?" She grinned.

"Has anyone mentioned you're an idiot?" He asked so bluntly.

"Well… Takes one to know one, right?" They both looked like they were about to fight each other then just burst out laughing.

"You're a really strange girl, you know that? What's your name?"

"Me? I'm Teal."

"Devitto."

"Devitto huh? Not something you hear everyday. I like it." She smiled. 'Although I still think you're an idiot. The good kind of idiot.' She was about to say what she was thinking when someone came up to them.

"Devi! There you are! I was worried I'd lost you!"

"Jasdero, relax. I just took a wrong turn, nothing happened."

"Well… I see you've met up with your friend." Teal smiled. "But I've got to go too. It was nice meeting you, Devitto." She smiled and waved as she disappeared into the fog. 'I hope we meet again.'

The next day…

"Where were you, Teal?" Allen asked. "We've been looking all over for you." He was pretty annoyed at her.

"Sorry guys. Last night, I went outside just for a few minutes then this guy took my wallet and... I got lost after I kicked his butt and he shot me." She decided against telling her friends about Devitto for some reason. She was going to say that he saved her but all of a sudden, her mind just didn't want her to talk about him.

"You WHAT?" Lenalee had a frightened expression. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. I'm fine. Thanks to my uniform, I only got away with a sore shoulder and a bruise. Nothing too big. And sorry if I scared you guys."

"Well, this time, don't get lost okay? We need to find General Cross."

After looking around town for information for hours, the Cross Unit exorcists arrived at a Sailor's inn from the instructions of a salesman who saw Cross a few days earlier. It looked like a 5 star resort hotel.

"So this is where Cross was reported to be last," said Bookman.

"Finally we found him," Lavi sighed with relief.

'I was hoping we wouldn't' Allen thought gloomily.

"According to some locals, the mistress of this place recently became his lover." Lenalee said.

"Hey," a large bald person said in Chinese, "first time customers aren't allowed here." She picked up Allen and Lavi, who tried to explain that they weren't customers but they couldn't speak Chinese. Luckily, Lenalee could.

"Lenalee! Help!" they both screamed.

"We're not customers!" Lenalee said in Chinese.

"Please go around the back," whispered the woman. She was speaking in English. "You all can't get to my mistress's chambers from here. We are supporters of the Black Order."

Soon, they all met Anita, the mistress of the inn.

"Welcome, dear exorcists." To Teal, Anita was extremely beautiful. She had short black hair with a long ponytail in the back of her hair. Her face had some makeup that brought out her beautiful eyes. She wore a kimono to finish off her look. She looked like a princess more than a mistress.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but General Cross isn't here. He left 8 days ago on a ship. We received a distress signal from the ship, by the time our men got there, there were debris in poisonous water. No survivors have been found." Anita's voice had fallen.

"Where was the ship's destination?" Allen broke the silence.

"Where was the ship's destination?" Allen asked again. "My master wouldn't have died that easily." Everyone stared at Allen. There wasn't much doubt that Allen was wrong due to the large amount of time Allen had spent with Cross. Anita smiled with a tear streaming down her cheek.

"You think so? Very well, I shall accompany you to find Cross." Anita rose from her chair. "The destination is Edo. We will leave as soon as the ship is ready."

After the exorcists left the inn to prepare, Teal went to town with Lenalee to get some last minute supplies. Lenalee made a phone call to the Order informing her brother where she and the others are going. After about five minutes, Lenalee finished her phone call and was looking distressed.

"You nervous?" asked Teal.

"No, I just word that we lost 5 exorcists and 5 pieces of Innocence." Teal was shocked. "All except one were killed after the Sokolo Unit was attacked. One member is still missing."

"Who was in the Sokolo Unit?"

"Chaker Rabon, Kazaana Lido and Suman Dark." 'Rabon? Lido? Where'd I'd hear those names before? The dream!'

"Lenalee, I don't mean to scare you, but I think I saw Lido and Rabon of the Sokolo Unit get killed, in a dream. I don't think an akuma killed them, it might've been a Noah."

"What about Suman?"

"All I saw he was injured, I didn't see what happened to him." Teal answered gravely and turned her head away. Lenalee lowered her head. Teal put her hand on Lenalee's shoulder to try to comfort her.

"I'm sure he'll be alright."

As much as Teal wanted to know that Suman was alright, she didn't want to find him. If that was a Noah that killed his comrades, there is no way Suman got away that easily. If Suman was nearby, surely danger would be too. Teal prayed for Suman to be safe even though she didn't know much about him. 'He is important to Lenalee and a friend of a friend is my friend, right?'

"Teal, look up at the sky!" As Teal looked up, there was a very dark cloud that seemed to be heading into inland. It was a hoard of akuma.

"There has got to be millions of them." Something rather large hit both Teal and Lenalee. It was Timcanpy. Timcanpy pointed up, and there were small gun shot explosions.

"It's Allen!" Lenalee gasped. The girls didn't hesitate. They both activated their Innocence and went off to help Allen.

When Teal's Innocence upgraded after she fought so many akuma within the past weeks that they were traveling, it changed in appearance slightly. Her ribbons split in half when they were activated, one half stayed on her arms as shorter arm blades while the other half became rings on her ankles allowing her to fly without using her Spell of Wind. It wasn't really flying though, it just allowed her to walk on air and she could walk and run normally as if she were on the ground. But if she really wanted better agility, she had to rely on the wind and vibrations that were created by things like gunfire.

'Spell of Wind: Elemental Twister'

Teal unleashed an attack that created a storm and destroyed the akuma that were holding Allen. Lenalee grabbed Teal after catching Allen.

'Sound Shackles' Lenalee's boots changed their appearance and she was moving faster than the speed of sound.

"You alright Allen?" asked Lenalee. Allen nodded.

There was an earthquake so strong that all three exorcists were knocked down. Something very large had appeared from the ground. It had the mark of Innocence on its chest and it looked like a white headless body. Lenalee gazed at the thing for a while as if a painful memory came back to her.

"Suman?" Lenalee covered her ears and fell to the ground Allen was hugging her, trying to comfort her. Teal crouched beside her.

"Lenalee," Teal started, "how can that be Suman?"

"He's a Fallen One. Fallen Ones are created when a non-accommodator forcibly tries to synchronize with Innocence. It is a sin that is almost unforgivable by God. Such things are forbidden but when I was younger, I witnessed an experiment at the Order that was used to create new exorcists. Suman was an accommodator, what sin did he commit? Teal, Allen, we have to save Suman."

Allen and Teal looked at the creature that was Suman. Teal had an uneasy feeling about this but she did want to help Suman. Lenalee grabbed Allen and Teal was beside them as they glided towards Suman. There was an opening where Suman was and there were thorns sticking out around Suman. Suman's head and shoulders were only visible and the creature had engulfed the rest of his body. He was covered in blood and his ears were cut off.

"Suman, it's me, Lenalee! I am your friend from the Black Order."

Suman ignored Lenalee's call. Akuma were starting to shoot at them. Suman's body deflected the attacks and shot an extremely powerful attack back at them and defeated some akuma but more just kept coming and coming.

"Lenalee! Allen! Cover me! I'll try to see if I can get a vision so we can figure out a way to save him." She landed on a thorn by Suman and put her hand on his shoulder.

Before Teal could activate her ability, the thing that surrounded Suman grabbed her and pulled her in. Allen was able to grab her hand but was pulled in as well.

Lenalee was about to try and pull both of them out but she saw a little girl who was also caught up in the thing that was holding Suman. Lenalee couldn't grab her and pull her out but Allen was able to hand the girl to Lenalee from the inside.

"Lenalee, take the child, we'll be fine." Allen sank back inside the material again.

"Allen! Teal!" The akuma were shooting again.

'This child isn't breathing. I have to take her to safety.' Suman unleashed another attack on the Akuma. Lenalee had no choice but to leave Allen and Teal.

Inside of the Fallen One's body, Allen and Teal were seeing Suman's memories go through their heads. Teal and Allen were in pain. They weren't used to seeing so many things go into their heads so fast. What they saw was Suman begged the Noah to spare his life so he could go back to his family. In exchange, Suman would have to give out where all the Finders and Exorcists were in the battlefield. There was another memory of a little girl crying for Suman. There was a strong wave going through Suman's body and he was screaming in pain.

"Another attack?" Allen asked.

"Most likely. So Suman sold us out to save his life so he could see his family. I can't blame him. Either way, the Innocence is trying to kill him! We have to get him out!" Teal shouted. The Fallen One's body spat Teal first then Allen. Before Allen was spat out, he saw Suman's Innocence in his arm. Teal caught him when Allen was thrown out.

"We're heading straight for a village!" 'Spell of Wind: Sonic Steps' Teal's arm blades unwrapped themselves and merged at the bottom of her boots forming skates. 'Okay that's neat.' She noticed that in this form it took less energy to move around in the air but it was still tiring when she was approaching the Fallen One's body.

"Suman, stop! You are going to destroy a village!" Allen screamed. Akuma were shooting at them and Allen used his arm to cover Teal and himself since she couldn't fight back and carry him at the same time with her skates.

Teal dropped Allen on an arm by where Suman's torso was sticking out of the material and converted her skates back into her arm blades. Teal started deflecting the akuma's attacks from Allen and hoped that Allen would reach out to him.

"Who's there?" Suman asked. He spewed blood on Allen. Teal turned her head to Allen.

"Suman?" Teal thought she and Allen were able to make Suman come to his senses.

"Curse you! Curse you!" Suman screamed over and over. "Let God and all his creations be cursed!" He bit Allen's hand.

"Teal, we need to get Suman out now!" Suman started attacking the village. "There's an Innocence in his arm. I need you to make an opening big enough so I can sever his arm and pull Suman out."

Teal hesitated then took a deep breath as she stuck her forearms in to hook on to the material for an opening for Allen. It felt slimy and disgusting and she couldn't keep a good grip.

"Allen, please hurry, I can't hold on if Suman makes another attack." Teal pleaded.

Suman was over the part of the village where it met the forest. Below, a child was crying over their dead father, shaking him in hope he would get up. Suman saw the child and the child reminded him of his daughter. When he came back to his senses, he uncontrollably unleashed a final attack. Teal was sent flying and was knocked out.

-  
When Teal came to, her golem was receiving a transmission from somewhere. She figured it was Timcanpy. However, it wasn't Allen's voice that came through her golem.

"Now then, are you Allen Walker?" Teal told her golem to lock onto Timcanpy's signal and dashed to Allen's location with her golem guiding her. When she got to where Allen was, the person who was next to him tore off Allen's left arm. The shadows covered his face and she couldn't get a good look at him. Allen was on the ground, powerless to move. He was terrified.

"I'll start with your Innocence boy."

"Get away from him! Spell of Water, Magic Tide!" Teal summoned a wave that was created by the moist air and she made it circle around the man. 'Freeze' the wave froze him solid. When Teal thought it was safe, she ran to Allen.

"Allen, you alright?" She panted.

"Behind you!" Allen croaked. The man put his arm through Teal's back, and was about to pull out her heart but his arm was forced back by something from Teal. He was about a few meters away from Teal.

"A female exorcist eh? You're the first I've seen."

"You-you're the one from the train." Teal remembered the vision on the train, about the man with the glasses changing into someone else. She could be wrong but either way this guy had to be stopped. 'How did he escape'?

"Clever girl. I am Tyki Mikk of the Clan of Noah." He gave a bow.

"If you are going to kill Allen, you will have to get through me first. I don't go down so easily." She stood in front of Allen protectively and raised her blades in attack position.

"Tim, take Suman's Innocence and get help." Teal trembled as she gave Tim the order. Timcanpy swallowed Suman's Innocence and flew off. 'I got to protect Allen as long as I can.' This was a member of the Noah clan and the Order said that they're much stronger than akuma.

'Akuma, get the golden golem. He has the Fallen One's Innocence.' Tyki commanded through his thoughts.

Tyki charged at Teal with a butterfly-shaped weapon from his arm. She dodged and went in the air and tried to attack from above. When she landed, Tyki was no where to be seen. 'Did I get him that easily? No, wait.'

"Behind you. Tease, devour your prey." She was able to dodge him seconds before he made this butterfly thing touch her again. She didn't know what Tease was. Tyki sent dark butterflies toward her and they looked like they wanted to eat her. Before any of them could hurt her, they were turned from dark butterflies to normal butterflies when they touched her skin.

"Hmph. Interesting. The tease don't become harmless unless if they go after a Noah or akuma by mistake. Perhaps it was just luck."

Tyki charged at Teal but he kept missing. The attacks that did hit her were not affecting her. Teal tried to attack back but she seldom hit him. When she kicked him in the stomach, she stopped him momentarily and sent him flying into a tree with another powerful kick like she did with that robber the other night.

'Come to think of it, she hasn't used her Innocence much and her personal strength is incredible. Maybe as strong as one of us.'

"Master!" an eerie voice called out, "She's one of us! A family member!" Teal was slowing down due to fatigue and a very short recovery period. Tyki was able to grab her wrist and he saw Teal's marks. They were the marks of Noah. Teal didn't struggle to get away from Tyki.

"Bad idea," she smirked. 'Spell of Fire, Fire wall' a pillar of fire surrounded Tyki and Teal forcing Tyki to let go.

"You're pretty strong. You should be fighting on our side where you belong." Tyki said. Was he trying to psyche her out? And what did he mean 'Where she belonged'?

"Get real. I won't fight for the Clan of Noah even if Hell froze!" She snarled.

"Feisty, aren't we?" Teal was seriously getting tired. She had to stay strong or Tyki will kill both her and Allen if she let her guard down. Tyki made his butterfly shaped weapon again and knocked Teal down for a short time.

"Thanks for the fun. I'd love to kill you some other time girl, but I am ordered to kill people connected to a certain individual. And I'd rather not kill you just yet."

Teal struggled to get up. Her body was so heavy. She knew she had the strength to continue but something was holding her back. Her body sank back to the ground even though she was not ready to go down just yet. She couldn't let Allen die. Tyki created a bigger Tease than the ones before and was walking towards Allen.

"Leave him a-" Somebody was burning her. She was paralyzed with white searing pain. "Allen!" She croaked. 'Get up. Get up or Allen will die!' Tyki destroyed Allen's Innocence. 'Please! There's not much time!'

'Let him die then.' That woman purred. 'You will not interfere. I'd rather get rid of you too, now that my family member is here to take me home and you have served your purpose.'

"Darn, it wasn't the heart. Maybe your friend has it." All Allen could do was watch in horror as Tyki came towards him. Teal's mind was racing. She had a bit of a hard time fighting Tyki and was not at full strength due to the recovering process. And that woman has made her appearance once again and she's the one who's been hindering Teal.

"You bitch! I'm not going to let you win!" Teal's will overcame that woman's power and she got up on her feet once more and charged at Tyki.

"I won't let you kill-" Something was wrong, she didn't stop where she was supposed to. "My…friend…" She gasped as Tyki's tease went through her body and turned into a large normal butterfly.

She barely touched Allen when she landed. There was no emotion on her face and her eyes were distant. She was surly dead.

"Teal! NOOO!"

"So bold and yet so foolish. Pity. She is a pretty one. Her sacrifice was all for nothing."

Tyki made another butterfly and this time, it punctured Allen's heart. When Tyki pulled the Tease out of his chest, a deck of cards were visible in Allen's coat. It was the cards Tyki gave him on the train.

"Sweet dreams, boy." Tyki dropped the cards around Allen as he was dying. Tyki turned to Teal.

'Maybe she has… HUH? Her Innocence is gone! It was there when she fell. No matter.' Tyki put two fingers on her neck. 'She's still alive. The Earl will want to know about the marks. He'd know for sure if she's a Noah or not. It's best to separate these two so they won't be found easily.'

He dragged Teal far away from Allen. Tyki summoned two Akuma.

"Guard the girl until further orders. Use Noah's ark if the Earl wants her brought to him. If you don't hear anything from us within two days, she's yours to kill." He disappeared into the gate of the ark that he created.

Teal opened up her eyes and sat up without much trouble. The first thing she did was she flexed her fingers and cackled. The akuma that were standing right beside her had their weapons ready to kill her.

"Now really," She gave a seductive smile. "There's no need for that. You wouldn't kill a Noah would you? You two," She stepped up to one of them and looked it directly in the eye. "I have a message that Lord Millennium must get. The game is still on and it is not my victory yet. My opponent is so disobedient and feisty but once I lure her out, and finish her off, I'll be free to rejoin you once again."


	7. Nothing But a Memory

Nothing but a Memory

"Lavi! Help me!" Lenalee was a bit of a mess. Her pony tails were off, leaving her with very long hair that kept getting in her eyes and the dress she wore on top of her uniform was partly shredded but her uniform was slightly damaged.

"I can't find Allen, Teal or Suman anywhere."

Lavi was exhausted from the battle on the ship. Teal went with Lenalee last night and Allen was carried off by an akuma. Now they were missing? 'I hope they're alright.'

--------------------------------  
Someone was walking in the forest near Allen's location.

"It smells like death. This fog is so thick, I can't see a thing." Suddenly, a weird creature appeared in front of her. Its body was long and had a green glow.

'What the? I-I-is that… a dragon?! I must be seeing things.' The dragon was tugging her a bit.

'It wants me to follow it?' The girl followed the dragon.

'That's weird it just disappeared. I was seeing things. What am I doing—here??!' She tripped over something and landed on her face. 'Ow, my nose! A card?' Beside where she found the card, she found Allen. 'Oh no, he's hurt bad.'

-----------------------------------  
"Lenalee, you sure you don't want to rest?" Lavi was using his hammer to reach the village where Lenalee had to leave Allen and Teal.

"I'll be fine. After I got that girl to safety, I went back to find them. I looked and looked but I couldn't find them anywhere." Lavi gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry, they'll turn up eventually." In the distance, Lavi and Lenalee saw some explosions. It was defiantly from akuma.  
"Come back here you little pest!" Screamed one of the akuma. Timcanpy was dodging the akuma's shots left and right.

"That thing is fast, it must be on Lero's level." Said one akuma.  
"Oh yeah? It won't escape from my homing missiles." Said another. They fired some missiles straight at Timcanpy. Timcanpy detected something and headed towards Lavi and Lenalee. Lenalee was able to destroy the missiles. "Timcanpy!" Lenalee shouted with relief.

"Ack! An exorcist!" Lenalee destroyed some of the akuma with her 'Ring Dance' attack. Whatever was left was left was destroyed by Lavi's fire seal.

After the battle, Tim led Lavi and Lenalee to where he left Allen and Teal. Lenalee was by the pool of blood where Allen was. Lavi was looking at Timcanpy's video memory.

"Teal and Allen got separated when Suman sent a final attack. Allen had to maximize his Innocence to get Suman out. Allen and Suman landed here and Suman was destroyed by a Noah."

Lenalee's eyes started to water. She was thankful to Allen and Teal because they saved his soul.

"Allen encountered the Noah and he tore off his arm. He was about to destroy Allen's Innocence when Teal showed up. She told him to get help and she started fighting the Noah. That's about it."

Timcanpy felt like he was detecting something. He pointed east. He signaled Lenalee and Lavi to follow him. They ran after him and shortly, they found Teal by a pile of rubble that was an akuma. Teal was lying on her back. One arm was across her stomach, the other was beside her head. Her Innocence that vanished before was back on her arms, in their normal form. She was covered in dirt and dried blood. Her sleeve was soaking in blood from her wrist to her elbow.

"Teal!" Lenalee ran to Teal and was shaking her by her shoulder. "Teal! Wake up! Wake up!" Teal remained motionless. Lenalee checked for a pulse and for Teal breathing.  
"Lavi, she's alive!" She exclaimed. Teal felt very cold and her pulse was weak.

"Lavi, do you read me?" Bookman's voice transmitted through Lavi's tear shaped golem.

"Yep. We found Teal but we can't find Allen."

"Come back to the ship now."

"But what about…"

"A missionary has arrived. Come back immediately."

Lavi picked up Teal and he, Lenalee and Timcanpy went to the harbor.

---------------------

Soon…

Lavi was still carrying Teal. Her eyes opened a little bit but they were vacant. They saw everyone looking depressed and a hooded figure on the dock.

"It's been a long time, Lenalee." Lenalee smiled and nodded.

"You're from the Asia Branch."

The figure lowered his hood. He was a white haired man that had a beard and brows that shadowed his face.

"We have located Allen Walker. He is in our custody now."

"He is?" Lenalee was more relieved than before. Both Teal and Allen were okay. "May I see him?"

"I'm sorry, miss. You and Allen Walker will depart ways here in China. You must go to Edo with your comrades." Lenalee's heart sank. Allen was found, but he was probably dead.

Anita asked, "How are we supposed to get to Edo? Our ship has been badly damaged from the battle last night, repairs will take days."

"Not to worry, there is a new exorcist that will accompany you. She is Miranda Lotto."

A skinny, brown haired woman came from the ship. She was wearing a new Order uniform and was carrying a suitcase.

"Will every stand back a minute please?" She activated a record-like Innocence that was attached to her sleeve.

'Time Record, Activate! Time Recovery' The ship's repairs were gone in a few seconds. Everyone was amazed.

'Uh Oh, was I not supposed to fix the ship?' Miranda jumped into the harbor. "I'm sorry! Let me die!"

"Lavi, get Miranda out."

"Why me, Old Panda?" Bookman kicked Lavi into the harbor as well.

------------------------

Soon… Aboard the Ship

"These are the latest uniforms," Miranda explained, "Komui figured your old one are pretty worn out right now."

"They're so light and easy to jump around in." Lavi commented and made a jump. The uniforms were a bit less bulky than the old uniforms. Instead of the bulky shoulder guards, there were thinner ones. And they had more zippers.

"Lenalee, here is yours." Miranda handed the uniform to Lenalee. She remained silent and was regretting leaving Allen and Teal. Her uniform was similar to the one she had before but there were two long sides at the bottom of the uniform and it came with shorts instead of a skirt. Teal's was just the same.

"I'll put Teal's by her bed so she can put it on when she wakes up." Miranda said. Bookman came into the room.

"She won't wake up." Everyone started at him. First Allen's dead, now Teal's dead. What next?

"Teal isn't dead, but she is in a very deep sleep. This may sound strange, but she lost her heart."

"Old man, how could she still be alive if she's lost her heart?" Lavi asked.

"Her heart is like everyone else's but there is another part of it that is missing from her body. It is an uncommon phenomenon that occurs when one person goes through an extreme change emotionally. First, an event must occur where one has no emotions left and nothing matters. Then if another event occurs that triggers the emotions to return, it impacts the heart and the crystal part forms. That part of the heart has powerful properties and it can not be reached by anyone. However, if one person has a strong will to help another, the heart is unprotected and it can be released if it comes in contact with another powerful force and there is a chance it may never come back. Unless if that heart is returned, she will not awaken."

Lenalee started feeling even guiltier than before. None of this would've happened if she had stayed with Allen and Teal. Lavi smashed the window with his fist.

"Snap out of it!" he shouted at Lenalee, "this is a war! These things happen!" A tear ran down Lenalee's face. Bookman started to choke Lavi.

"Sorry about that Lenalee, I'll make him pay for that."

'Pull yourself together,' Bookman whispered to Lavi, 'know where your place is. You are not an apostle of God, you are a Bookman. We only exist to record history, nothing else.'

'Right, sorry Old Panda' Lavi received another smack. He was allowed to have friends but his business was writing history. Bookman glanced out the window.

"Allen Walker is prophesized to be the 'Destroyer of Time'. Meaning he is the only one who can destroy the Millennium Earl. If that is true, he is very much alive."

--------------------------------------  
Time… Millennium…

'What is this place?' Allen was in a strange world. The water is black, the moon has a face. Wha? Lenalee!' Lenalee was in the lake crying. Everything was destroyed. What happen to the world? The war? Why is Lenalee so alone? I have to help her.' Allen reached for the lake but something grabbed his hand. It was some sort of demon that resembled him and was smiling wickedly at him. 'The water, it's freezing! Let go! I have to get to Lenalee!'

The water froze. On the water, there was another figure. Standing there. It was a woman, her body was mostly shaded. She was tall and had dark hair.

'Who are you? Did you do this?' The figure just stood there.

'Answer me!'

"Allen Walker, you've lost sight of what's truly important. If you don't recover what you lost, everything will be nothing more…" she pointed at the ice "than a memory."

"Wait! Where I am I? What happened?"

-----------------------------  
Allen woke up in a hospital bed. He was bandaged, had an IV in his arm and he was alive. 'How am I alive? That Noah killed me. I saw him put that butterfly in my chest and I felt myself dying. It was so cold and scary.' Allen sat up and saw a girl sitting on the floor with her head buried in her arms on the bed. He heard someone talking.

"Thank you," Allen could hear Komui's faint voice. Was he here?

"Don't thank me, Komui, I'm not the one who saved him," There was another voice but it was louder, and they must be on the phone with Komui.

"It's been a while since I thanked God like this." Komui said.  
"His Innocence was so determined he should live, so it filled up the hole in his heart. And after Fo brought him, most of his injuries were recovering rapidly."

"Was there anyone else in the area that could've helped him?"

"Fo looked around for a bit after she dropped Allen off but there was nobody or anything that could've helped him."

Allen waited for the conversation to be over and then he heard the man walk away. He waited until his footsteps were gone before he got out of the bed.

'So that's why I'm alive. My Innocence helped me. And what happened to Teal?'

Allen started walking down one hallway that led to another hallways that led to somewhere in the building he was in.

------------------------------  
"Sorry, Wong. I let my guard down. I didn't think he'd be able to move in his condition."

"Allen!! Allen where are you? You are very sick!" Wong cried.

------------------------------  
Allen came into a large room with a dead end. There was a wall with very large and strange mosaic. He was still in pain from the battle. His eyes were starting to water.

"Allen," Teal's voice echoed from somewhere. Allen looked around. Teal wasn't here. He was probably imagining things. "Allen, you're not imagining things." Teal's voice was clearer. She was standing right beside him. Allen stared at her in disbelief.

'Is she a ghost?'

"I'm not a ghost. Hey, nice place here. You're pretty lucky they found you Allen." Teal walked around a bit and leaned against a pillar.

"Teal, how?"

"Can I read your mind? Dunno. Allen… why are going there?" Teal's voice changed and sounded like that man he heard earlier. The man was standing against a pillar. "Why not just turn back? That door won't open."

Allen turned to the door. "I promised my father… I swore to him I'd keep walking forward until the day I die."  
"Allen, have you considered switching sides?" Allen was confused about this question. What did he mean?

"Since you lost your Innocence, maybe you should consider working for the Science Division or some other division. I'm sure God won't punish you if you did that."

"No thank you." Allen seemed to calm down a bit. "I want to return to the battlefield with my friends." The man came out of the shadows. He was the same height as Allen, he had blond hair, a black beret, and he wore the white Science Division Uniform.

"Very well. Komui said you might say that. Your Innocence still lives."  
"Really?" Allen was relieved. There was still hope for him yet.  
"But before we…"

"You stupid IDIOT!" An angry female voice yelled across the room and the owner of that voice kicked the man in the head. She turned to Allen.

"What were you thinking, going off on your own?! You could've at least woke me up and introduced yourself."

"Did you have to kick me instead of him?" The man who was talking to Allen had a bloody nose.

"You!" she pointed at the man, "introduce yourself."

"Very well, I am Bak Chan, and that man over there is Wong. This is Fo, the guardian of the Asia Branch."

"Pleased to meet you, I am Allen Walker. Thank you for saving me, I owe you a great debt."

"You're welcome," Fo was extremely annoyed.

Bak lead Allen to a room where it was very foggy. Allen wasn't sure it was fog because it had a greenish tint to it.

"What is this?" Allen asked.

"This is your Innocence," Bak replied.

"When I carried you, this fog was following me and I could hardly see."

"You are going to reactivate your weapon." Said Bak.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Fo?" Allen was looking at Fo, "Did you see another exorcist nearby where you found me?"

"No. I didn't see anything after I found you. I saw a ghost or something that lead me to you but nothing after that. Why?"

"Because, my friend was with me when she tried to protect me from the Noah. I saw she shielded me but I don't know if she's dead."

"Is she your girlfriend?" teased Fo.

"Wha?? No, it's not like that, she's one of my best friends." Allen was waving his arm rapidly.

"Allen, did she have blue hair?" Wong asked. Allen nodded. "I saw her. She is with your friends. I don't know if she's alive or not." Allen thought he was going crazy. If Teal was with the others, how could she be here?

"Let's do this." Allen said. Allen looked up at the fog that was his Innocence. He wanted to fight with his friends again.

"Ah, good, they haven't started yet." A voice came from behind Allen. There were three department members. Two were young looking men the other was a young girl who was about 18.

"I can't find my glasses," the girl stated.

"They're on your head." Said the other boy.

"What are you three doing here?" demanded Bak.

"Don't you three have work to do?"

"Ah, c'mon director." Said the first voice, "let us stay, please? We're new and we haven't seen an Innocence before."

"Alright, Allen this is Shifu, Li Kei and Lo Hwa."

Allen smiled. "How do you do?" Lo Hwa fell in love with Allen the second she saw him.

"All right everyone, stand back."

'Innocence Activate!' Allen's arm was taking form.

"I did it!" The arm disappeared back into fog. Allen did this over and over for hours. The Science members were talking together trying to come up with a theory on why Allen can't keep his arm very long. Bak came up with an idea.

-------------------------  
The next day, Bak lead Allen to the same room he walked into the day before.  
"What are we doing here?"

"You are going to fight for your life. Fo!" Fo came out of the mosaic wall.

"It's not my job to baby-sit him. Stupid Bak. You have to give everything you got against me boy, I'm pretty tough." Fo's arms changed into blades. She slashed at Allen, but was able to dodge them. She was able to kick him in the stomach and sent him flying into a pillar.

"You need to activate your Innocence soon boy, otherwise, you'll be crow meat."

Allen stood up. "Alright, let's call it Operation Cornered Rat." Their battle began.

----------------------------------------  
Lenalee got changed into her new uniform. She was thinking about what Lavi said about these things happen in war. She knew it was true. Casualties do happen. It was hard on her because Lenalee thinks it's her fault that Allen is probably dead and Teal lost her heart.

'I have to focus on the mission. We need to find General Cross. I'm going to work extra hard for Allen and Teal.' Lenalee didn't have anything to tie her hair up with so she went to see if Anita had something.

"If things go well, we should be in Japan in two days," Anita heard a knock on her door.

"Sorry to bother you so late. Do you have something I could tie my hair up with?"

Anita combed Lenalee's hair and placed some bronze clips in her hair.

"These belonged to my mother."

"Oh, then you must treasure them."

"It's alright. She was planning to give them to me when I turned 18. Ever since she was killed by an akuma, I haven't been able to put them on."

"Did your mother fall in love with General Cross too?"

"Yes."

-------------------------  
Lavi was up on deck, thinking about what Bookman said. "I'm not their comrade," he told himself, "a Bookman has no need for a heart." Something was looking over the ship. Below deck, Miranda was feeling pain.

"Miranda, what's wrong?" asked Bookman.

"There are repeated recoveries on deck. The ship is under attack!"

Everyone rushed on the deck. There were clouds and akuma were firing from behind them. 'Title: The Corpse of an Exorcist' A different kind of akuma had attacked Lavi.

'Fire Stamp!' Lavi's hammer wasn't enough to destroy it.

'A level 3?'

"Title: Why do you keep recovering"? Bookman activated his acupuncture Innocence, Heaven Compass.

'Heaven Compass, North Crime!' Bookman was able to pin the akuma against the beam.

"Why have you come here? You weren't sent here to hunt humans for fun were you?"

"Title: Eishi was created from the soul of a Japanese artist and was sent by the Earl to… to… get her."

"What does the Earl want with 'her'?"

"Don't you want to know about Cross Marian?" The akuma knew about General Cross. It cackled. The akuma grabbed Bookman.

"I'll tell you what you want to know, if you will be my model." Eishi took Bookman in the sky.

"Old Panda!" Lavi went after him.

'Heaven Stamp!' He was able to make the akuma let go of Bookman. Bookman was unconscious. "Old Panda!"

"Lavi, get to the ship. I'll fight it off. I'll be back soon." Lenalee raced by him.

"Lenalee, that thing is Level 3 or higher! Be careful!" She was able to kick the akuma. The akuma sank and landed far from the ship.

"Lavi, listen to her," mumbled Bookman. Some akuma nearby started shooting them. Lavi used his hammer and went back to the ship.

'Title: Are you the one I'm supposed to retrieve?' The akuma landed on the surface of the water. He was staring at Lenalee then at her Innocence.

'Sound Shackles' Lenalee was able to land on the surface as well.

-----------------------------  
Back on deck, the akuma shots were heading towards Miranda. She couldn't defend herself from them. Sailors shielded her with their bodies.  
"What are you doing?" she screamed in terror, "You'll be killed and I can't turn back time for the dead."

"We've been hit may times before. We might as well defend you, Madame Exorcist." Before the shots could hit again, something blocked them. It was Lavi's hammer.

"You two!" Bookman shouted at Lavi and Krory, "Take care of the akuma in the clouds, I'll watch over the time record."

'Heaven Compass, Divine Needles of Protection: East Crime!'

Bookman had turned the clock that was hovering above the ship into a spiked circle. The shots couldn't reach it. Suddenly, something wrapped around Miranda's record on her wrist. It was like a chain made of dark matter.

"What?" Miranda tried to remove the chain but she couldn't.

---------------------------------  
Lenalee's fight wasn't working very well. She couldn't do any decent damage to Eishi. Her feet started sinking. Her Innocence wasn't deactivating how could this happen?

"What did you do to the ship?" Lenalee shouted.

"Eishi has the ability to control gravity. I will feast my eyes on your friends' bodies as they sink to the bottom of the ocean. I received word that the one we have been seeking has been found. The others will now die." More eyes came from his head.

"Who are you talking about?" demanded Lenalee.

"The Earl has told us to come here to retrieve someone. Either way, you'll never see her again!" Eishi summoned chains around Lenalee causing her to sink to the bottom. She couldn't fight it away, even with her Innocence. She sank to the bottom.

'Maybe there is a way to get rid of these chains. I think if I maximize my Innocence, it should neutralize this for a short time. Allen, I'm a little scared. You maximized your Innocence to save Suman. I believe you'll come back to us, so I'm going to fight because I want to see you again.'

'Title: The Maiden that sank into the Depths.'

-----------------------------  
'Ah! I can't sleep! My eye! It hurts! But why?' Allen awoke with a start. His eye just activated for no reason and started to throb. He started walking down the hallway towards the arena. He had been fighting Fo for hours but he felt like he needed to continue to fight so he could help the others.

"Allen, is something bothering you?" Teal came up behind him. She had a worried look on her face.

"Is this going to become a regular thing with you? You pop up any time you want and it's gonna give me heart failure!"

"You don't have to shout you know. You'll wake everyone up. Look, I can talk to you in your head so you don't have to use your mouth." Teal put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, if anyone sees me talking to you like this, they'll keep me here longer because I'm a lunatic."

"I never said that."

"I'm worried about the others."

"So am I. But you can't go anywhere until you restored your arm. You should go back to bed." She stood in front of Allen and blocked his path.

"Teal, tell me something. What happened that night when you shielded me? Are you dead? And how come I'm the only one that can see you?"

"No. I'm not dead. I don't know what happened. All I know is that I'm alive but I'm not in my own body. Or maybe I am dead and I'm just an earthbound spirit. And since you can see souls, maybe that's the reason why only you can see me."

"Earthbound spirits?" He asked nervously.

"Ghosts who are trapped on earth because they have unfinished business. I guess that would make sense. Wait a minute, can I try something? Advanced warning: this might hurt a bit."

"Sure. What are you going to do?" Teal hit him on the back of his head and Allen and he fell.

"Okay, I'm alive." She smiled. "If I was dead, you wouldn't be able to feel that."

"That hurt!"

"I told you it would. Maybe I should've hit you harder so you would go back to sleep. Get my drift?"

"Alright. You win." Allen bumped his head against Bak's head and Bak dropped his papers.

"Walker, what are you doing up?" Bak asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Oh, I'm sorry, I made you drop your papers. Here, I'll help you get them."  
Teal knelt beside Allen.

"Pervert!" Teal shouted. She walked up and slapped him but her arm went through his head.

'Teal, have you already forgot that Bak can't see or hear you?' Allen asked her.

'No, I haven't forgotten. He took pictures of Lenalee.' She said angrily. Allen looked at the documents.

"Bak, do you like Lenalee?"

"These weren't photos that were taken without permission." Stammered Bak.

"G-G-Go back to the infirmary." He ordered.

Allen started to head back to the infirmary. Teal started to feel dizzy. So did Allen.

'Teal, what's happening?'

'My dimensional scream.' The hallway vanished. There was nothing but water.

'Innocence Maximum Power, Activate!' Everything came back.

'Teal that was Lenalee! She had to maximize her Innocence. She's going to be paralyzed. I need to fight Fo now!'

'Allen, we can't do anything now.'

"How is it that Bak can't see, feel or hear you but you are able to hold me back?"

"Get some sleep." Teal said more sternly. "Or do I have to knock you out and drag you?"

---------------------------------------  
"Le…na…lee… La…vi… Ary…star"

On the ship, Teal was able to sit up for some reason from her bed. Her eyes were still blank. She mumbled the names of her friends then stopped. Her new uniform was beside her hand and she touched it. When she touched it, the new uniform went on her and her old one was on the bed. The room was half flooded.

"So there you are," sneered a sailor that was an akuma. He took a step towards Teal. She stared into space and didn't do anything.

"What's the matter? Can fight back?" he taunted. He picked up Teal and carried her above deck. The ship was coming back on the surface of the water. The chain around Miranda's record disappeared.

Another sailor noticed him with Teal.

"Hey, what are you doing with her?" Lavi had cleared the clouds away and they revealed where the akuma in the sky were. He sent Krory to get them. The akuma transformed.

"Die exorcists!" He started to fly off. Lavi used his hammer.  
'Extend!' He was able to catch up to the akuma. 'Combo Seal, Violent Heaven Skies' He summoned his fire-thunder snake to the akuma but he purposely dropped Teal. She fell in the ocean because the akuma dropped her at a high speed.

"Teal!" Lavi couldn't catch her. She was falling deeper and deeper in the ocean. There was a mysterious glow that could faintly be seen.

"Lavi, don't go off the ship! There still could be akuma." Shouted Bookman.

"But Teal will drown!"

"We'll get her!" Shouted some sailors. They dived off the ship but something prevented them from reaching the water and they were brought back on the ship. Lavi couldn't do anything but wait. Further more, he was anxious for Lenalee to return. From what seemed like hours he couldn't wait for them anymore.

Krory had just landed on the deck. Red snow and explosions in the sky followed him.

"It reeks of Crimson, how delightful." He smirked.

"Let me go!" Lavi was struggling against the sailors.

"You're injured! We'll find them."

'Extend!' Lavi extended his hammer and knocked down the sailors.

"Lavi," said Miranda, "Please don't hurt them. They risked their lives for us."

"Teal and Lenalee are your friends and comrades aren't they? Aren't you even worried about them?" Lavi snapped.

Miranda's eyes watered.

"You're our friend too, right Lavi?" Lavi didn't know what to say. He was split between his friends and his duty as a bookman successor. He nodded.

"At least bandage the parts that may have been wounded." Pleaded Miranda.

"I'll be fine." He took off with his hammer in search of the girls. There was nothing but endless water. Lavi started to hurt all over. There was still no sign of either of them anywhere.

'This is bad. My wounds are starting to come back. I hope I find them soon.' Something zoomed by Lavi. It stopped a few feet in front of Lavi. It was Timcanpy.

"Tim? What are you doing here?" Lavi lost his balance on his hammer and fell in the water.

'Uh, I hurt so much that I can't swim. I can't even use my hammer.' Something grabbed Lavi. It put Lavi on its back. Lavi could see that it was long, smooth and had a glowing green light surrounded all around it. It had Lavi's hammer in its claw. As the creature swam up to the surface. As they were swimming, Lavi noticed something else with the same glowing light heading to the surface. As Lavi and the creature reached the top, Lavi looked beside him. It was a crystal with Lenalee concealed within it. Holding Lenalee was a yellow akuma with bright white eyes, a knight's helmet with a yellow head like mouth in it.

"Are you junior?" Lavi was stunned. How could an akuma know him?

"What did you do to Lenalee?!" He shouted.

"Nothing! I am on your side. This is the girl's Innocence! I was altered by Cross Marian. Please help me, this thing hurts to hold!"

Lavi didn't trust the akuma. What if it was a trap? Timcanpy landed on the akuma's head.

"Tim, you're landing on the wrong head!"

"Oh, you must be Timcanpy. You're bigger than I thought. Please help me Junior!"

"Alright." Lavi nodded and gritted his teeth. He wanted to help Lenalee, no matter what. Now he only had to find Teal. He'd go back to the ship then look for Teal again. The creature that Lavi was sitting on speed towards the ship with the akuma following it. Lavi was hanging onto its horns for dear life.

Soon they arrived at the ship. The akuma placed Lenalee on the deck and the dragon lowered Lavi as well then went beside the crystal as if it were guarding it. Everyone was heading to the deck. Anita was nearby trying to get to Lenalee but something stopped her.

'What is this? My head is going to explode! The Innocence is too much!'

Bookman stepped forward.  
"Everyone who is not an exorcist, stand back!" They did as they were told. Bookman glanced at Lavi, the akuma and the dragon.

"Lavi, what happened?"

"I don't know. I fell off my hammer this…"

"Dragon," finished Bookman.

"Right dragon, saved me and when we got to the surface I saw this akuma with Lenalee in that crystal. According to the akuma, the Innocence has saved her."

"Why hasn't this been heard of before?" asked Bookman, "if it had been, think of all the others that would have been saved."

"Maybe it's the Heart. Or the Dragon could be the Heart. It's made out of Innocence." The akuma was behind Lavi. Lavi used his hammer to try and back it away.

"I wouldn't take it! I'm on your side remember?! General Cross altered me!"

"How do we know that?" snarled Lavi.

"Stand down Lavi. This akuma speaks the truth. General Cross is the only person in the world that can alter akuma." Lavi deactivated his hammer.

"Oh, sorry about that. But how could the Dragon be the Heart? Is it because it's only a legend or…" The crystal surrounding Lenalee was vanishing. Lenalee had her hair cut to a boy's length. Her legs had strange patterns on them and her uniform was torn a bit. Lavi, Krory and Miranda rushed to her side.

"Lavi," Lenalee opened her eyes and was crying, "am I still apart of this world?" Lavi smiled and gave her a hug. "You crazy kid." His and Lenalee's wounds disappeared due to Miranda's Innocence. Lenalee was able to sit up and put her uniform back on. She tried to stand up but her legs couldn't move.

"Master exorcists! Look!" shouted a sailor. The dragon that was on the deck was vanishing as well. As it was disappearing, Teal appeared from the vanished dragon. Her baby blue eyes were still blank. She glanced at her friends and she was standing in her new uniform. She took a few steps towards her friends.

"Le…na…lee…" She slowly reached out for Lenalee.

"Teal!" exclaimed Lavi he gave her a hug too. "You were the Dragon! And you are awake too!"

"La…vi…Kro…ry…" Teal collapsed in his arms.  
"Maybe you aren't awake." Lavi said with a little disappointment in his voice.

"I have been sent here by General Cross." The akuma said.

"He says that you must return immediately."

The exorcists looked at one another. What should they do?

"Let's keep going." Said Lenalee. "It would be a betrayal to those who died for us."

Lavi carried Teal to the cabin below. Krory carried Lenalee below. The akuma was pushing the boat at high speeds.

---------------------------------------------------  
'Wow, akuma are amazing.' Lavi thought. "How long can you keep this up Chomeske?" Lavi shouted out the window.

"Chomeske? Is that your nickname for me? It's kind of cute. I have to hurry. I don't have much time. I can take you as far as the Izu peninsula."

"Time?"

"That's personal matter."

Lenalee sat beside Miranda on the couch with her crutches beside her. Lavi was sitting Teal up on the bench by the window. Teal's head fell on his shoulder. Bookman and Krory were standing.

"Bookman, Miranda's getting worse. The recoveries are draining her." Miranda was looking extremely pale. She couldn't keep up the time record running on the ship until Japan.

"If I deactivate my Innocence…" she choked, "your injuries will return and the others will die."

"It's alright Miranda; you don't have to carry this burden on your own" Lenalee cried. Chomeske stopped the ship and the exorcists went on deck with Chomeske. They all put cloaks on and Miranda put a cloak on Teal. Krory carried her out. Anita, Mahoja and three other men were on deck. It was raining.

"Where are the other seamen?" Lavi asked.

"Please forgive them. They are having a party below. I figured they want to enjoy their last moments." Replied Anita.

"You mean you are the only survivors?" Lenalee asked. The sailors nodded.

"We shall accompany you on your journey." Said one of them.

"Fight exorcists!" Some voices off the speaker called. "Fight and win for all of us! We are with you in spirit!"

"My men…" said Anita. The exorcists went into the life boat. The sailors followed. Lenalee extended her arm.

"Anita, Mahoja, you next." Anita extended her arm and touched Lenalee's short hair.

"You have such beautiful hair. Don't let this war make you lose it." The boat began to lower in the water. Anita and Mahoja were not survivors. Lenalee burst in tears.

'I promise Anita. I'll fight for you. And we are going to win.'

Lenalee told herself. As the boat left the ship, Miranda's Time Record vanished over it and everything disappeared into the sea.


	8. Noah of Memories

Noah of Memories

The Cross group had spotted land in front of them. With Chomeske pushing the boat, it seemed like they would arrive there in seconds. After about ten minutes Chomeske had brought them to shore. There was a Japanese style entrance by the dock they landed on and there was a forest path.

"This is it!" Chomeske stated happily. "Welcome to Japan!" Chomeske transformed into a beautiful girl in a pink kimono. She had brown hair and eyes and a red ribbon in her shoulder length hair. She led the exorcists down the path. Two seamen carried the girls. Everyone was wearing cloaks.

"For nearly 3 centuries, Japan was a closed off country." Chomeske explained. "Trade was forbidden with the outside world and no one may enter or leave. The Earl is the real ruler here."

"Three hundred years…" Lenalee said.

"That would make this place a perfect sanctuary for the Earl." Said the person carrying Lenalee.

"Exactly. Humans aren't truly safe on these islands. Same goes for akuma. Only the strong survive."

Krory saw something on the path. "What's that?" Another woman was standing in the middle of the path. She was wearing a kimono and a head dress.

"Sachiko…"

"Kiramura!" Chomeske exclaimed.

"Sachiko?" Lavi asked.

"Sachiko is my akuma name. Kiramura is my friend. She was altered by General Cross too!" She ran up to the woman and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Kiramura! I'm so glad you came to meet us!"

Kiramura started shaking uncontrollably and transformed. Chomeske turned around. "Run for it! The akuma are coming!"

Moments later three Level 3 akuma devoured Kiramura. Shortly after, they left. After they were gone, Chomeske led the Cross group once more.

"Sachiko," Krory started, "why did those akuma attack your friend?"

"Please call me Chomeske. Kiramura was on her way here to meet us. She got herself caught by the other akuma. The akuma attacked her because they were hungry. This is what happens when there are too many akuma in one area. When an akuma devours another akuma, they gain the victim's abilities."

To the right of the path, there were piles and piles of metal. They were remains of akuma that were devoured. The Lavi, Lenalee and Miranda thought they all were going to be sick. Chomeske started to feel dizzy. A message was being transmitted to her by the Earl. A pentacle appeared on her forehead.

"Sachiko, what's wrong?" Lavi asked.

"Call me Chomeske! It's the Earl. He's summoning every akuma in Japan to his location." Everyone was shocked. They didn't expect to meet with the Earl this soon.

"Fight it Chomeske!" shouted Lavi and Krory.

-----------------------------------------------------------  
"What did you say?" Tyki was at a pond by the base. He was fishing. His card keeper was floating beside him.

"Allen Walker's name won't come off…" he cried in an eerie voice, "no matter how hard I scrub, it won't come off! He's still alive!"

"No, no, no!" Tyki shouted angrily at him, "Don't make excuses just to get out of there." He swung the fish in his hand at the keeper.

"He's alive…" This bothered Tyki. He never made a mistake about leaving others alive.

"Hey, what's a smart man like you stealing fish from a pond?" A voice sneered behind Tyki. It was Devitto and his brother, Jasdero.

"Or maybe that's the only thing you can do since you got your ass kicked by a girl?" He laughed.

"Where did you two hear about that?!"

"The grape vine. Hee Hee!" Jasdevi burst out laughing. Tyki was extremely annoyed and curious about that girl. She injured him quite a bit and only exorcists that can do that are Generals. And those marks on her wrist…  
"But we also heard that the girl who beat you could also be a Noah. Is that true? Hee!"

"Possibly. The Earl wants her brought to him just to be sure." Tyki replied.

"But the akuma that you assigned to bring her were destroyed."

"I hate it when you twins do that." The Noah got a carriage and Jasdero was pulling Devitto and Tyki.

"What about you two? Aren't you supposed to find General Cross?"

"Shut up! He's not an easy man to catch." Devitto snarled.

"Hee Hee! We lost his trial three times already."

"Basically, you two aren't any better." Somebody went flying behind the carriage.

"Hold on, I think you ran someone over!" Jasdero ran over Skin Borric and he joined the trio.

"So, what brings you here Sweet Tooth?" Tyki asked.

"The General that I was assigned to kill fled to this country."

"Basically, we all suck at our jobs."

"I'M TIGHTING THE NOOSE!" Skin yelled at Tyki.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU GUYS!" Devitto shouted as well.

"Hee Hee, the boss isn't going to like this."

The Noah arrived at a large building. It was at the top of a pillar in Edo. Inside was dark and gloomy and full with pictures of ancestors. The Earl was waiting by some sort of piano.

"Ah, welcome. Since you are all here, does that mean you finished your missions?" All four Noah had not finished their missions.

'Ouch!'

"Eh? Two exorcist Generals in Japan?"

--------------------------------------------------  
"The Earl… The Earl is summoning every akuma in Japan to his location."

Everyone was afraid. Did the Earl know that they were here? If he was, they were in no position for a battle.

"Not only that, the Earl is sending a message to be on the lookout for someone. I don't think he knows we are here."

"Who is he looking for?" Bookman asked.

"He… is looking for the Deceiver. There is someone who could be the Deceiver." Chomeske looked up at the others with fear in her eyes.

Everyone was puzzled. Who was the 'Deceiver'? Whatever that person was, it couldn't mean anything good. Chomeske was straight as a board.

"I'm sorry everyone. I have to go to the Earl. His transmission is too strong." The group was following Chomeske.

'Old Panda,' Lavi whispered to Bookman, 'who or what is the 'Deceiver'?'

'The Deceiver is the Noah of Memories. She was a ruthless Noah who was skilled in magic and she could manipulate people's memories. From the records, she can manipulate memories anyway she wanted. And she could see the past and the future within visions. The Deceiver was supposedly defeated when the Earl was defeated before. Obviously, she survived as well as her descendants. If the Earl finds her, it will mean trouble.'

'I hate to ask but you think Teal could be the Noah of Memories? Maybe that's why the akuma took her from the ship. She fits some parts of the Noah of Memories description like her Dimensional Scream ability. And I think she knows some magic.'

'Possibly. Either way she has to be protected at all costs while she's unconscious. If she is the Deceiver, the Earl could turn her against us. If she isn't, the Earl will kill her.'

The group arrived at Edo. It was nothing more than a ghost town. There wasn't anyone in sight. There was a whole bunch of houses and one palace on a tower. On that tower, the exorcists could faintly see the Millennium Earl. The akuma were surrounding the sky. The group jumped on one of the roofs. And hid in the shadows.

"Go forth, my akuma. Slaughter the Generals!"

The group heard this shout from the Earl. They weren't going to let the akuma kill the Generals. They had to defeat as much as they could. Lavi summoned his fire snake. He targeted it towards the Earl.

"Devour." He commanded.

The snake swallowed the Earl and four figures dodged and landed on the akuma. They were the Noah.

"We won't let you get to the Generals Earl!" Bookman shouted.

"Bookman, that fat man is the Earl?" Krory asked.

"That man… is our arch enemy." Lenalee answered.  
Krory and Lavi stepped forward and took their cloaks off.

"You can't be serious about fighting them!" Chomeske shrieked. "The Earl has a hoard of akuma and four Noah with them! They'll kill you!"

"The odds aren't good but who knows?" Lavi chuckled. Lavi and Krory took off. Tyki leapt off the akuma he was on and summoned his weapon.

"Well what do you know. It's the boy with the eye patch." Tyki sneered. He landed on a roof and Lavi and Krory landed on a roof near him.

"I'll never forget that face." Lavi snarled. "It's the Noah that killed Allen and injured Teal! You go back and protect Lenalee and the others, Krory. I've got a score to settle with him."

"The card shark? You're upset that I killed him? Was he a friend of yours?" Tyki asked.

"Shut up."

"What about the cute girl there? Was she a friend too? I could tell the other girl was a friend of his too the way that she protected him. Was she your friend too?"

"Shut up!"

"I understand your pain."

"Shut up!"

"I also… have friends." He smirked.

"Shut your mouth!" Lavi shouted.

"From what I've heard, your friend Allen is still alive. If he surrendered to the akuma I sent for him, he should be along shortly. The girl that was with him that night could be with him in China. Can you survive long enough to see them with you?"

------------------------------------------  
"You stupid… IDIOT!" Fo had kicked Allen pretty hard in the head. It sent him flying to a pillar.

"Where's your killer instinct?!"

"I'm trying my best." Allen groaned.

"NO YOU ARE NOT! You'll never reactivate your weapon! You'll always just be a stupid Bean Sprout!" Fo kicked him in the head while he was on the ground.

Allen had snapped and looked like he was about to launch himself at Fo. Lo Hwa, Li Kei and Shifu who were watching the fight were holding them back.

"OH NOW YOU WANT TO FIGHT?! BRING IT ON BEAN SPROUT!"

"I'm confused! How much longer do I have to stay here? I didn't come here by choice."

'Allen, you have to calm down!' Teal was standing in front of Allen, trying to keep him back.

"Allen, how about you and Fo separate for a while?" Li Kei suggested.

--------------------------------------------------------  
Allen was sitting on a railing in a North Sector hallway. Teal was sitting near him.  
'I shouldn't have gotten angry at Fo like that. She is trying to help.'

'Allen, I can understand that you are confused and you want to help the others. But still… That does not excuse that unnecessary fight.' She shot a murderous look at him.

'I know. It's just that I can't get that vision of Lenalee out of my head.'

'What vision?' Teal asked.

'You pop up whenever and you can read my mind but you can't see my dreams? Some ghost you are.' He teased.

'So? I have boundaries. So what was it about?'

'Lenalee was alone, crying in some world.'

'Sounds like a plain nightmare to me. I bet they're all okay.' They're probably waiting for you to catch up.

"It's dark." Allen sighed.

"Allen." Lo Hwa appeared out of nowhere with a lamp. She had an eerie look on her face. Allen jumped in the air. Teal disappeared.

"You said it was dark so I brought you a lamp." She handed Allen a lamp and sat beside him.

"Your poor arm. You must be exhausted after all that work. At least you are making some progress. Not like me." She sighed.

"No, that's not true. You made a lot of progress after all the work you do."

"What drives you? What makes you fight? Are you just fighting to return to the battlefield with your friends? After all you've experienced like the Heart, the Noah, Fallen Ones and your loss you still want to return to the battle. I find that amazing."

"I'm still searching. My arm won't fully activate just on the thought of my friends. It seems like there is something that is missing. And as long as that something is missing, I can't reactivate my arm." The moment seemed really good. Allen and Lo were leaning towards each other as they were about to kiss.

"Hold it!" A voice shouted behind them. It was Lo Hwa. "Why am I throwing myself over Allen?"

'Evil twin?' Allen was extremely confused.

"Humph! The moment's ruined." The Lo Hwa that was beside Allen transformed into Fo. She stood up.

"I didn't come here to cheer you up. I'm still furious with you!" She got off the railing and headed back to the room.

"Thank you Fo, for the light." Allen called. Fo hid a smile.

"We'll continue when I'm rested. Being crabby makes me tired." Fo stopped dead in her tracks and seemed to be hovering above the ground. Allen's eye reacted.

"Don't you ever pretend to be me ever again!" Lo Hwa screamed at Fo.

"Bak! Hide Allen!" Fo shouted. Something large and white came from Fo. Teal suddenly reappeared. She was standing by Allen. A level 3 akuma appeared from the ark gate.

"So this is your sanctuary." The akuma said. Allen just stood there.

"White hair, strange left eye, Allen Walker I presume? The Noah ordered me to bring you back if I found you alive. He didn't say I had to bring you in one piece." The akuma took some sort of handle and shot some kind of thread at Allen and went straight through his chest. Something flew out of his chest and the thread broke. Whatever it was, it was making Teal fade.

'See you soon Allen. Good luck!' She smiled and completely vanished.

"Oh, I see." The akuma said. It tried to get the crystal but it was too fast and zoomed through the white gate behind the akuma.

----------------------------------------  
All the akuma that were in the sky had merged into one big akuma.  
"We have to get up there! My fangs won't reach it." Krory shouted.

"I'll help you. My boots are the only thing that--" Lenalee said.

"No, Lenalee. The Heart could be inside you. We must use you as a last resort!" Bookman said.

"I'll take you up." Chomeske said. "My time is almost up and soon I'll attack you."

"What will happen when you attack us?" Miranda asked.

"Marian has rigged me to self destruct when I will get hungry." Chomeske transformed. Bookman and Krory grabbed on to her and they headed to that giant akuma.

Lavi looked away from Tyki for a second and turned his attention to the giant akuma. Tyki attacked and Lavi used his arm that was in a sling to block.

"So you can move your other arm." Lavi created a shield with his seals.

"There goes that excuse. I see that you can penetrate anything except for Innocence."

The giant akuma made an attack that covered the whole area the exorcists were in. Tyki dodged but it sent Lavi, Bookman and Krory flying. Miranda created a barrier that made the attack miss.

"Can you move, Alistar?"

"Yes. My fangs can't touch it." Lavi came crashing in the building.

"Idiot!" shouted Bookman. "You were supposed to take him down but he took you!"

"I don't see you doing any better!" There was a streak of light that flashed in the corner of Lavi's eye. The time barrier was still up and he couldn't pass through the barrier and the flash went through the barrier. Then the barrier went down shortly after it went through it. Tyki silently moved toward the exorcists.

"Oh, no! He's heading up there with Miranda and the others!" Lavi shouted. He was going to go after him but the giant akuma unleashed another attack.

Miranda had collapsed. Lenalee was trying to sit her up and Teal was with the sea men. The flash had stopped and absorbed in Teal's body when everyone's attention went to Miranda.

"Miranda!"

"Is she sleepy?" Tyki snuck up behind Lenalee and grabbed her throat.

"Another female exorcist eh? Women should die without a struggle."

'Uhh… What? Oh, no! Tyki's got Lenalee. I hope this spell works.' Chaoji, the person who was carrying Lenalee earlier tried to stop Tyki. His arm went through him.

"Tease, devour him." Tease came from his body and attacked Chaoji.

"Any last words, Miss?" He whispered.

"Spell of Fire. Fire Wall!" A pillar of fire surrounded Tyki and made him release her.

"So you were bluffing about your injuries too."

"Guess again." Teal was standing in front of him and took off her cloak. "Miss me?" Tyki spun around and Lenalee was where Teal was sitting.

"Clever trick. But this time, you're coming with me. I have orders not to kill you and bring you to the Earl."

"Tell the Earl I'm not going anywhere without a fight."

'Innocence, activate. Level 2, release!' Teal's ribbons split in half and her boots merged with her ribbons and made them weapons like Lenalee's boots but they had small wings at the heels. Her blades were slightly shorter.

Tyki charged at her. She blocked and attacked him but missed. She landed on a roof and was about to lose her balance but her boots balanced her.

'I finally leveled up! This is more convenient because I don't have to activate my Spell of Wind. Plus there's nothing holding me back so I can fight him.' Tyki used his weapon and sent Teal flying. She did a few backwards flips then used her boots to balance herself.

"If you won't come willingly, I guess I have to knock you out first." He was going to fire something from his weapon but turned and faced Lenalee and the others. Teal dashed and shielded them with her spell. She prevented Tyki from going anywhere near them. It didn't feel like it was slowing her down like last time.

'Maybe when I leveled up, my Innocence allows me to use my spells easier.'

Tyki grabbed Lenalee again and was using her as a shield. He jumped off the building and landed on another roof. Teal followed him.

"I see you learned to use your other spells in battle. Can you stop me without hurting your friend I wonder? If you can't, the only way to save her is cooperate."

That was the other thing. Teal only knew how to accurately use healing and shield spells from a long range position. Long range attacking spells were different. She couldn't really control how much power was used and how to direct it after it was fired. If she used a strong spell and someone was using her friend as a shield, she would hit her friend too. There had to be some way to attack Tyki and make him release Lenalee without hurting her.

Something came up from the roof. It was a sword. Teal recognized that sword. Kanda came on the roof and slashed Tyki. Tyki dodged it.

"So many new faces today."

"Perfect timing Kanda." Both Teal and Kanda chased after him. There were many slashes from them. Tyki was getting hurt.

"Sorry about this, Miss." He threw Lenalee at Kanda and went off. Teal went after him but lost sight of him. She saw the giant akuma and went off to fight it. Kanda landed on a roof. Lavi just landed too.

"Hey, long time, no see ol' buddy!" He smiled.

"Humph! What are you people doing here?"

"Our General has a mission here. What about you?"

"The same, more or less." Teal landed on the roof. "Hey, Lavi!"

"Teal! I'm not dreaming, right? You are awake right?" Lavi cried.

"No, you're not dreaming." The akuma roared behind them. "What the heck?" Teal turned around. "What level is that akuma?"

Before Lavi could answer, Kanda sped past them and glided to the akuma.

"Yu! Be careful!" Lavi called out. Kanda drew his sword and sliced the akuma's face. Teal and Lavi gaped in amazement.

"One problem solved." Teal shrugged. "Kanda's skills have gotten better since the last time I saw him." She turned her head to Lavi.

Kanda landed on a nearby roof.

"Hey, stupid rabbit."

"Yes?" Lavi answered.

"If you call me by my name again, I swear I'll cut you up." He shot a death glare at Lavi.

Lavi and Teal had a very uncomfortable look on their faces.

The Earl was creating a black orb.

"You insolent…" he released it "Fools!" The force sent everybody flying. Lavi couldn't hang on to Lenalee and she was separated from Lavi.

"Lenalee!" Lavi shouted. Teal was racing past him, trying to catch up to Lenalee.

'Please, please Innocence. Let me catch up to Lenalee.' She begged her Innocence. The strange presence surrounded Teal's body and she transformed into a dragon. She caught Lenalee and she protected her with her body. She felt Lavi crash into her. The orb had created a dark cloud and when the cloud was gone, Edo was leveled. No buildings were left standing.

"I spy an exorcist. And he's still in one piece!" Tyki exclaimed.

Kanda had stuck his sword in the ground and was hanging on to it. Everyone was knocked down. Krory and Bookman were unconscious and Miranda was healing them with her Innocence. Lavi woke up next to the dragon and the crystal. The dragon was protecting the crystal that had Lenalee inside.

'Again?'

"Lavi, are you okay? I think everyone else is too." Teal's voice came from the dragon. She quickly changed back into her human form. Kanda came up to Lavi and the others.

"What's this?" he asked.

'Kanda…Lavi…Teal…Marie…I'm in here! Help me!'

Teal turned to the crystal and placed her hand on it.

"I'll find a way to get you out." She placed her hand on the crystal and started muttering something.

"Marie!" General Tiedol shouted. "Get to Lenalee and the other girl! The Earl is inspecting them. Tyki charged at Kanda. General Tiedol was going to Lenalee and Teal but there was another giant akuma.

'Maker of Eden, Activate! Know the beauty of this world. Art!' A giant white figure appeared from the ground and pinned down the giant akuma.

"I'll have to take them." Kanda was fighting Tyki and was keeping him as far away from Lenalee and Teal as possible. Lavi ran to shield Teal and Lenalee then Skin picked him up by the head with his giant hand and asked "Do you like sweets?" Lavi was freed from his tight grip and started fending him off.

'I need a bit more time.' Teal was still muttering her spell. Some sort of glow surrounded her hands and she was about to reach for Lenalee.

'Teal! Behind you!' The Earl was behind Teal. She summoned her blades and shielded Lenalee. Teal was doing her best to fight him off. She was able to injure him a little but the Earl was still too strong for her.

"Yes you do look like her," He smirked. He summoned another dark orb that paralyzed her used something else to see through her mind. After some effort, Teal was able to fight off the dark effect of the orb but collapsed to her hands and knees. The Earl stepped away and looked satisfied.

"Impressive. Not many people can fight off that dark magic. Then again, you are the one we are searching for and I'm not really surprised that you can fight it off." He went towards Lenalee. He used Lero to do something to her.

"Get away from Lenalee!" Teal charged at him.

'Spell of Darkness: Midnight Illusion' Teal created a ghost like dragon. The spell also created an illusion so the Earl saw many crystals where Lenalee was only in one of them. There was a dragon beside all of them and they were trying to dispel the dark mater from inside the crystal. The Earl wasn't easily fooled and attacked Teal. The Illusion vanished. She was knocked to the ground. She got back up and dashed to the Earl and used her blades to shield Lenalee once more. She couldn't fight off the Earl and get rid of the dark matter at the same time. She needed someone else to help her. Her healing powers were slowing down a bit because they were still trying to get rid of the dark matter that the Earl had used. Teal didn't have time to burn herself to get her healing powers working quickly.

Just then, a giant claw came from behind the crystal. Teal saw two enormous shadows on the ground and a white light. One shadow was the Earl's. The other one had a funny shape to it. Teal couldn't make it out but at the same time, she somehow it was familiar. She met this same shadow a long time ago.

"So we meet again. Good evening Allen Walker."

"Good evening, Millennium Earl." It was Allen! He was able to reactivate his weapon. He had large silver claws on his left arm and he was wearing a white cloak with a silver mask around his neck.

'Spell of Fire: Fire Body' With Allen holding back the Earl, Teal was able to heal herself and went to Lenalee when the crystal vanished.

"Teal, stay with Lenalee! I'll handle the Earl." Allen said. He charge at the Earl and the Earl turned Lero into a very thick sword. Teal was tending to Lenalee by healing her wounds. A cloud reappeared and Lavi walked by Teal. He was exhausted.

'An akuma?' He had his hammer ready. Allen appeared out of nowhere.

"Lavi? Did the Earl pass?"

"Eh? What happened to the guy I was fighting?" He went beside Teal and Lenalee.

"Take this you son-of-a-bitch!" Kanda attacked Allen's arm.

"Bean Sprout?"

"It's ALLEN!"

"Where'd the Noah with the curly hair go?" he said angrily.

"They got away because you are too slow Kanda!"

"You're the one to talk, you showed up late, Bean Sprout."

"It's Allen. I guess I forgot that your head is too slow to remember that." The two started arguing.

"Now now," Lavi started, "reunions are supposed to be happy."

"Shut up or I'll cut you." Allen and Kanda said together.

------------------------------------------------------  
"Why are retreating, Earl? I was having fun. And you know, the girl that was protected by the crystal could have the Heart you know." Tyki said. He had a cigarette in his hand. He and Skin were being dragged by the Earl in the Ark.

"You two have grown." Said the Earl, "Tyki, your latest target is back." Tyki looked up.

"Left arm and all?!"

"Yes. He foiled my plans as well. However, I do give you credit about the girl…"

"The ark's download will be complete in four hours."

"Ah, well done, Road." Road jumped on the Earl's back.

"What'cha talking about?"

"Yes. The Noah of Memories has been found. She is one of those exorcists. Tyki, Skin, Road, if she happens to come to the Ark, make sure she comes out alive. Knock her out if you have to but don't kill her."

"Oh, then I can dress her up when she comes home." Road giggled.  
"She is young right?"

"I think she's not that much older than Jasdevi." Tyki replied.

"Yay! But, is she the one that injured you bad, Tyki?" She looked at Tyki with a look of sympathy on her. He nodded. "I guess her genes aren't awakened yet." She sank her head.

"I think they are starting to." Tyki answered. "Her stigmata are on her left wrist. It's only a matter of time."

"Hey, Earl, where's Lero?" Road changed the subject. Lero was no where to be seen.

------------------------------------------------------  
"So everyone's back together!" Lavi stated cheerfully. The exorcists were taking shelter by a nearby bridge. Kanda was mediating, Allen, Lavi, Chaoji and Teal were tending to Lenalee who fell asleep.

"So, Lavi, what happened to Lenalee?" Teal asked.

"She maxed out her Innocence. She used full power against a level 3 akuma and her Innocence saved her. In exchange, she lost some of her hair and she can't really walk."

"Oh. And also, you know why the Noah are after me?" She asked. Lavi turned to Bookman.

"You may be the Noah of Memories. The only proof I have is your Dimensional Scream ability. Whether or not the Earl saw something else in you, I don't know. But still that isn't enough proof that you are the Noah of Memories."

"Bookman, I think that's true. When I joined the Black Order, memories that I've lost came back to me and…" She rolled up her left sleeve revealing her marks on her wrist. "When I joined, I didn't exactly lie when I told Komui about my marks. I didn't think that my marks had anything to do with the Earl but after learning about the Earl and the Noah Clan… I can't really explain..." She covered her marks with her sleeve again.

"Will she stay an exorcist?" Allen asked.

"That is for the Order to decide. As long as she doesn't betray us, I don't think it should be a problem." Bookman said.

"I swear I will not go against the Order! Cross my heart and hope to die. If I go out of control, I'll make sure I put an end to it." Teal said. 'This is just great. I know Hevlaska said something about another power working in harmony with my Innocence but my Noah is not it. It must be my light side that's working in harmony with my Innocence. That would be the bit of magic that I know. But this is also bad. I remember reading something about how people become immortal. You have to have both darkness and light allied with you to form healing powers that don't allow you to die because the light would heal the darkness and vice versa if either force is threatened. I have to destroy my Noah side somehow or I will be living with a curse for the rest of my life!'


	9. Fork in the Road

Fork in the Road

Lenalee was waking up. She smiled when she saw Allen. Now everyone was back together.

"Allen…" she put her hand on his cheek.

"I'm back." He smiled. "Lenalee, I'm sorry."

"If it's about Suman, you saved him Allen. Both you and Teal saved him." She glanced at her friends.

"Actually Lenalee, I couldn't do much because I was blown off. Allen was the one who really saved him." Teal said. Lenalee smiled at both of them and said 'Thank you'. Allen placed his hand on Lenalee's and a tear rolled down his cheek out of happiness. This moment was short lived. A large pentacle appeared underneath Lenalee and she was sinking into the ground.

"Lenalee!" Allen grabbed Lenalee's hand, but was pulled in. Teal grabbed Allen's ankle and was easily pulled in after Allen. Lavi grabbed Teal's ankle, Kanda, Krory and Chaoji tried to help the others but they were all pulled into the ground.

Everyone was falling from the sky and landed on top of each other. Teal looked up. Her body felt heavy because Lavi, Kanda, Chaoji and Krory were on top of her. It was hard to breathe. She looked at the sky. The same bright purple and black pentacle that pulled everyone to the ground was in the sky and it vanished. Teal looked around a bit and all she could see were beautiful white Mediterranean style buildings.

'I know this place. It's not like those other weird feelings I had lately where I felt like I know something but I've never been to those places before.' Everyone got off the human crash landing pyramid.

"We're in Noah's Ark. This is what I used to get here. One of the doors leads outside." Allen said. Kanda gave Allen another evil glare.

"Don't stare at me! I didn't do this!"

"Hey, guys, there's something under Lenalee." Krory said.

"A pumpkin headed umbrella?" Everyone was surprised.

"Get off me, you stupid fat exorcists!" It screamed.

"So you did this?" Both Allen and Kanda were threatening the umbrella with their weapons. "Get us out of here now, if you want to survive."

"There are no exits." The umbrella's voice changed to the Earl's voice.

"After hundreds of years of faithful service, this ark is no longer functional. Well done, Lero." A balloon in the shape of the Earl came out of Lero's mouth.

"You exorcists will accompany this ark to the after life. In 3 hours, you will cease to exist. Cute girl, aren't you so lucky you have friends to go with you so you won't be lonely? I'll see to it that no one misses you." The balloon vanished. There was an earthquake.

The group tried every door they could find that wasn't about to fall. Lenalee was being carried by Krory and Lavi. When there was another earthquake, the two accidentally let her go. Allen was able to catch her with his clown belt.

"You think there is a way out? We've tried several doors already." Said Lavi.

"There's only about two hours left" added Krory.

"Actually, there is one way out." A voice said behind them. It was the scruffy looking man from the train. He was holding a rusty key. Allen, Lavi and Krory all reacted. How could he get in here?

"Hey," Kanda said, "that person has a murderous aura around him."

"He's Tyki Mikk." Teal frowned. Tyki smiled and hit Allen.

"Why are you still alive, boy? I got into some trouble for not making sure you were dead." He tilted his head back and his glasses came through his head. His skin changed from a white tan color to a grayish color.

"There is one way out. Road has the ability to teleport through dimensions without using the ark. She can make a door for you. Let's continue our game from the train. How about your lives for the exit. And this time, no cheating." He tossed the key towards Kanda.

"You Noah are immortal, isn't that cheating?" Allen remarked.

"The Clan of Noah are mortal too boy. We only seem like Gods because you are so weak. I wish you luck to get to the exit. It will be placed at the ark's highest point." A door that was shaped like a heart came from the ground and Tyki vanished into the door. The group moved further in the ark. There was much discussion among the exorcists.

"You think he's telling the truth?" Chaoji asked.

"If he is, we don't have much of a choice. And how do we know this isn't a trap?" Allen asked and looked at the others for help.

"Here, give me the key, Allen. I might be able to see something."

Teal wrapped her fingers around the key. She waited a few moments and nothing happened. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The dizziness started. The ark disappeared. She saw the key being used to open a door that looked like a child's mural. Then that disappeared and a room with the same type of mural on the sky had another door that said 'Noah' in big letters in a far off building. A library with no visible door briefly appeared and then finally, there was Road's door. Everything came back.

"Teal, what did you see?" Krory asked.

"First, we have to go through a door that has a child's mural on it. It's blue with butterflies..., stars... and ...rainbows. As crazy as it sounds, it's the first door."

"We've seen many doors and they are all white. Did you see where to find it?" Teal thought for a moment. In her vision, the mural just appeared. Perhaps you had to turn the key to any door? She remembered there was a big arch way that was neatly carved. It had marble steps at the door. She looked around. Behind the group was the door that she saw.

"Let's try that one." She gave the key to Allen. He turned the key and the mural was on the door. He then stuck out his hand in front of everyone.

"We're getting out of here. All of us." Everyone put their hands in except for Kanda. But he nodded in agreement. When they went through the door there was a barren landscape with one building on the other side of the room.

"Is this the right room?" Lenalee asked. Teal nodded. They started to head towards the brown building in the distance. The group was about to proceed but they stopped when Kanda signaled them to stop.

"Kanda, what?" Allen began. Kanda shushed him. A few feet ahead of them there was a large figure that seemed somewhat frightening. His silhouette was very large both height and width. It was Skin Boric. Teal heard an eerie voice that was coming from him. "Never forgive, never forgive."

And another voice was saying 'Wrath… Wrath…'

"Go on ahead," Kanda instructed. "I'll fight this guy. He's after my General." There was another earthquake.

"This room is starting to go!" Teal said.

"I'll stay with Kanda and you guys go on ahead." Allen raised his arm.

"You have got to be kidding thinking that I'd let you fight with me."

"But Kanda…" Kanda threatened Allen and the others with his sword.

"Get out of my sight, or do I have to kill you first?"

"Kanda, calm down." Kanda unleashed his Hell's Insect attack. They hit everyone except for Lenalee.

"You idiot, Kanda!" Allen shouted.

"We should leave you behind!" Chaoji shouted. They started to head to the next building.

"I'm gonna beat you to a pulp when we get back, Kanda!" Teal shouted.

"Good luck with that." Lavi said.

Everyone was leaving but Lenalee stayed behind. Teal noticed that Lenalee stopped and she stopped to wait for Lenalee.

"Kanda," Lenalee called, "promise me that you'll follow us afterwards?" No answer. Teal turned her attention to Skin and then turned to Lenalee.

"ANSWER ME!" 'Eep! Didn't know Lenalee could be this scary.'

Kanda turned to them. "Alright. I promise. Now hurry."  
Teal offered her hand to Lenalee for support and they ran off together. They came to the brown building with a door with the word 'Noah'.

There was nothing but a long hallway. It felt like they were walking for a very long time. The exorcists and Chaoji were fast walking down the hallway. For some reason, Teal started to cry and stopped.

'What? I'm not even sad.'

'Goodbye… Wrath.' That woman sounded like she was weeping.

"Hey, Teal! You okay?" Lavi called back. Teal figured that he noticed that she was crying.

'I have to make up an excuse.' "I'm okay. My foot twisted to the side and it hurts."

"Do you need one of us to help you?" Allen asked.

"No, no, it's alright. Happens to me all the time. I can walk." She was waving her hands.

"Also, can you tell us where the next door is? Is it in this hallway?"

"All I saw was that the door was somewhere in a library. I didn't see anything else but a library and Road's door." She shook her head.

"What's that sound?" Chaoji asked. There was a rolling sound coming towards them.

"Over there!" Lenalee pointed out.

"Liquor bottles?" Teal and Allen turned pale.

"You got bad memories too, eh Allen?" She turned her head to Allen.

"Worse. MY MASTER COULD BE HERE!"

"Hee, there's a bomb in one of these bottles. If you don't find it, you'll all go boom exorcists." A voice echoed through the hall.

"A bomb?" Everyone stood there for a second and then scrambled to find it.

Allen was rambling about one of his experiences with his master. The exorcists were somewhat impatient because this was not the time to be remembering things like that.

"The most expensive liquor that Master made me buy was this one!" He held up a fancy green bottle with a creepy look in his eye while he was still in his recollection mode.

"It's the bomb!" screamed Lavi and Krory at the same time. Allen snapped out of it and checked the time left. It only had five seconds left.

"Toss it!" Teal waved her arms vigorously. Lavi made his hammer bigger and pitched the bottle like a baseball.

They continued walking for a little while then iron bars blocked their path and they could not retreat either. There was a loud rumbling from above them and the ceiling had spikes on it and it was falling.

"We're going to be skewered!" Chaoji shouted. Something else fell and scattered all over the floor.

"Cards?" Lenalee asked.

"Collect the cards that we say in three seconds or we'll drop the ceiling." The same voices from before called from above.

"Three of a kind!" Allen rapidly collected the cards and presented his hand.

"Bingo! Next, Full House!" Allen picked up five more cards and he had a full house.

"Wow, Allen, you're really fast." Everyone was amazed.

"This is a piece of cake." He said proudly.

"Ok, Royal Flush!" Allen collected the last hand in a blink of an eye.

"That is correct! But we'll still drop the ceiling anyway." The ceiling was coming down rapidly. There wasn't enough time to go to either end and escape. Lavi increased the size of his hammer and everyone crawled to the other side where Allen created an exit. Lavi quickly followed.

At the end of the hall, there was a game room. There were large checkered squares that were black and red. In the middle of the room, there was a roulette board.

"Kay, what gives?" Teal asked. "What challenge have these smart alecks set up this time?"

"Let's keep moving." Allen said.

"Hold it! If you don't complete this challenge, you'll go boom! And if everyone doesn't join in, you'll all go boom! The bets are your lives. Which will it be, red or black?"

"You all better let me handle this." Allen said. Most of the group knew about Allen's invincible gambling methods and they knew better not to argue. Allen walked up to the board.

"Step on the black." Everyone did so. The roulette started spinning. Everyone's eyes were anxiously on the ball. The ball landed on the red. Allen swiftly and secretly kicked the table and the ball landed on the black.

"Hey, you cheater! You just kicked it!"

"You have any proof of that?" replied Allen with a smug look on his face. "I refuse to be called a cheater by people who don't show themselves." He was starting to look like a devil again.

"Fine. We will. Go to the next room and we will show ourselves."

Allen turned around and was staring at the end of the hallway as they were about to move forward.

"What is it Allen?" Lavi asked.

"I thought I heard something. Like something breaking." The hallway was starting to go. Everyone ran down to the other hallway on their right. Krory carried Lenalee and everyone was sprinting to escape the crumbling floor."

"Lenalee, please get one of my blood bottles."

"This one?" Krory drank it and he was powered up. He grabbed everyone.

"Hold on," He dashed down the hall. Chaoji lost his grip and fell.

"Chaoji!" Allen cried.

"I got him!" Teal activated her weapon.

'Wind, take form' Her blades merged with her boots and they took the form of skates. She grabbed Chaoji and was able to catch up to Krory. They landed in a library. There was a large pillar in the middle of the room.

'Phew… Man that hurts my back.' Teal thought as she stretched out her back. She took a quick look around and this was the same library that she saw.

"The door is in here somewhere. I didn't see exactly where, but I know it's in this room." Teal informed the others. "My guess is that there has to be a switch or something to open it."

"Yo, exorcists." Everyone turned around. Two Noah boys who were about 17 sat on the large pillar with golden guns pointing at each other.

"Name's Devitto." The black haired boy spoke.

"And I'm Jasdero. And together, we are Jasdevi! Hee!"

"Ja-Jasdero."

"D-Devitto?" I could feel myself smile at them. They were the first ones who I could really see clearly in my world.

*bzzt*

"Promise us… When we meet again, we'll all become stronger."

"Kay!"

*bzzt*

"I want you to know that… I-I love you."

*bzzt*

'What is 'love'?'

'An unknown power that brings people together and will bring happiness among them.'

Oh my god. This can't be right! The Noah that are right in front of us are the same boys from my past? I'm not sure how I should feel about this… I'd rather not fight them, but I will perform my duties as an exorcist.

"Allen Walker," everyone's attention turned to Allen.

"We have nothing against you personally…" said Devitto. He and Jasdero pointed their guns at Allen.

"But we have a grudge against your master, so we're going to take it out on you. Hee Hee!" Jasdero finished his sentence. They started shooting at Allen.

'Blue Bomb!' They fired the guns and there were large blocks of ice.

'These too can freeze things!' Allen thought. He was dodging the ice bullets left and right.

"Red Bomb! Red Meteor!" A humongous fireball was heading towards Allen.

"Cross Grave" a white cross appeared and shielded Allen from the attack.

"We're not finished!" They taunted. Another one was heading straight towards Allen. This time, Teal, Krory and Lavi stepped forward.

"Hey, you two quit picking on Allen!" Lavi made his hammer bigger. Krory was behind it, ready to hit it and Teal was on top, ready to be launched. The meteor was less than a few feet away from them. Lavi and Krory launched Teal to the meteor and with the help of Lavi and Krory, she spun beside it to make it change direction.

"Uh oh, they changed its course." Jasdero laughed. They loaded their guns and pointed them at the meteor.

"White Bomb!"

"What's going on here?" Lenalee asked.

"I think it's those guns that are giving them special powers." Chaoji suggested.

'It's not the guns,' Lero thought evilly.

'Those are just ordinary guns from the black market. Keep wondering and suffer, then die!' Lero cackled.

"Oh, Lord Jasdevi, Stop! Stop! Didn't the Earl send you to hunt down Cross?" Jasdevi shot at Lero who barely missed the bullets.

"Shut up. Or do you want more holes?" Devitto snarled.  
"We couldn't find Cross anywhere in Edo, pumpkin head!" Jasdero shared the same expression.

"The Earl said Cross might show up at the ark. So we came here in case he showed up." Devitto started.

"In the mean time, we are going to distract ourselves with his disciple." Jasdero shouted.

"And we are going to make him pay the bill Cross stuck with us!" They both shouted at the same time. Everyone was stunned.

"We went all over the world searching for him. We arrived in a town where we thought he was. When we got to the inn he was staying at, all we found was a note on his bed. It said to meet him at the Pig's Tavern. When we got there, he tricked us into going there to pay off his stupid tab! The work kept pilling up and we couldn't pay off the tab so we had to take the bill." They were literally on their knees bawling their eyes out.

"When hunting down someone and they leave a note, whatever you do, don't follow what the note says. Obviously, they almost always lie." Teal said. She was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Shut up, stupid girl!" They shouted.

"He left us with one hundred Guineas!" Jasdero sobbed. He held up a booklet that was fairly thick.

"He's like the devil! Pay up, disciple!"

"Whoa, what's with Allen?" Allen was in severe depression. He was on the floor muttering words like 'debt'

'one…hundred'

"Allen, snap out of it!" Lavi shook him to snap him out of it.

Allen stood up. His black side seemed to be awakened again. He literally looked like he had horns like the Devil himself.

"A mere 100 guinea? Compared to the debt he left me with, that's chicken feed."

"Chicken feed?" Devitto shouted.

"You wanna die?"

"My master isn't like the devil…" he growled, "He is the devil himself! If you're gonna get involved with my master, you have got to expect money trouble!" Everyone was still shocked. This was very awkward. Jasdevi burst out laughing.

"Let's get serious!" They fired their guns a few times and finally "Purple Bomb!" Allen seemed to land a direct hit on the twins but there were two dolls lying on the floor.

"Ha Ha! Fooled you!" Everyone looked around. The room was dysfunctional. There was fog all over the place and there were balls everywhere. There was purple paint like masks on the exorcist's faces.

"What is this?" Allen asked.

"Trick glasses," said Jasdevi. The exorcists looked around and around but they were no where to be found. Their voices echoed everywhere and it was very hard to tell where it was coming from.

"Look at the floor!" Lenalee shouted. There were thousands of keys just like the one they had.

"Allen, do you still have the key?" Lavi asked in panic. Allen searched his pockets but it was no where to be found.

"Sorry about that, but it seems your precious key has gone into hiding. If you want it, just pick it up!" Jasdevi taunted. "It's not so easy with the trick glasses on is it? And as long as you're wearing them, you won't be able to see us either. That'll teach you to make us mad disciple."

Everyone was trying to get the trick glasses off but nothing they did would work.

"I'm sorry everyone." Allen groaned.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Allen; it's not your fault." Lenalee was trying to comfort him. Krory was scanning the area trying to spot Jasdevi.

"Hey, they call these trick glasses, right?" Teal said to Allen and Lenalee. They nodded. "They're just trying to fool us by thinking there is more than one key. If we find it, everything should go back to normal."

There were eight red meteors heading towards them. Everyone had their backs to each other and stood there in shock. Turns out, the real one hit Chaoji. Teal and Lenalee were treating him; Krory and Lavi were keeping watch for other attacks. Allen was away from the group, with his claw ready.

"We'll just have to force them out of hiding!" He used his Clown Edge attack on air but no luck.

"Think you can hit us, fool? Green bomb!" They screamed. Allen was trapped in a jelly like blob. Lavi got him out and apparently, he used a bit too much power with his fire seal.

"Arystar, what are…?" Lenalee began. She threw her coat on Chaoji and she was in her black strapless minidress. Krory silenced her.

"Please be quiet young lady."

"Allen," I'll handle the trick glasses, you worry about protecting the others okay? They can't fool a Bookman's successor with this trick. I memorized what the key looked like the moment I laid eyes on it."

"Good. Find it in 60 seconds. After you find it, take Lenalee, Chaoji and Teal out the door and find the next one. I'll throw Krory after you."

"Blue Bomb!" Jasdevi shot another ice bullet and nearly froze Allen solid. "Find the key, Lavi!" Allen shouted as Lavi took a step towards him. Krory freed Allen and then threw Allen to the shelf.

"You don't have to be so angry, Count." He said faintly.

"What was that for you grey haired jerk?"

"I'll kill you!"

"Duck, Brat!"

Krory hit the empty space where Allen landed.

"Missed…" He opened his hand and strands of blonde hair fell out.

"Krory, can you see Jasdevi?" Allen asked.

"No…but I can sense them. My blood rages to sink my fangs into them." He laughed evilly.

"Nice people don't say that." Allen said.

"Move as I direct you, Allen. We're going to get them." He opened his hand and blonde hair fell out. Krory picked up their movements again and dashed towards them. He ran up the bookcase and then straight down the bookcase to corner them.

"Allen! They're right in front of you!"

Lavi summoned a gust of wind and all the keys that were on the ground were gone. They were surrounding Lavi on the archway. There was a great big ball of floating keys surrounding him.

Teal stayed with Lenalee and Chaoji. She was watching Allen and Krory on the other side of the room. Allen was grabbing on to what seemed like air. She was scanning the area to see if she could figure out where the door was.

"Miss Exorcist," Chaoji got Teal's attention.

"Eh?"

"Why don't you help the others? We'll be alright."

"It looks like they're alright over there. If something else happens, I'll go help them. But for now, I'm staying here."

'I can't fight them. I don't want to fight them.'

-  
"So, he's from the Clan of the Bookman?" Devitto spoke. He and Jasdero had been quiet for some time.

"I see. They're working for your side now, eh?" He finished.

"Doesn't his hair make you mad? It reminds me of Cross!"

Jasdero shouted. "It's muddying my pure heart!"

"And the disciple won't pay the bill to boot." Devitto replied calmly.

"Pay up disciple!"

"NEVER!"

"Slimy…" Jasdero and Devitto said at the same time. Something was grabbing Allen's arms. It wasn't Devitto or Jasdero. It was slimy, smelly and sticky. Allen let go of Devitto and Jasdero and tried to back off but the creature got him stuck in the mud. The creature had many skulls in its body and now it trapped Krory too. They couldn't move against it. The twins were laughing their heads off.

"Devour them, Jasdevi hatred!" they ordered. The creature swallowed Krory and Allen.

"Allen! Arystar!" Lenalee shouted. She ran to the creature.

"Lenalee! No! I'll help them! You stay with Chaoji!" Teal was about to run after her but Chaoji was now being attacked by a giant snake.

"Jasdevi fear! Destroy him!" They shouted. Teal now had to fight off the snake because Chaoji couldn't fight on his own. She went in front of Chaoji, in her fighting stance. The snake faced Teal and it changed form. Teal stood her ground. She was terrified on what Jasdevi Fear would change into. It changed form into a dark figure of a shadow woman.

'Time's up. You can't escape your fate.' Teal started to walk backwards. Her fear over came her and she was powerless to do anything. The illusion world vanished and everything was silenced. 'No matter how hard you try, you will die.' The woman hissed.

"Move! C'mon, legs! Move!" Lenalee's cries broke the silence.

"Lenalee…" Teal saw that Lenalee's legs gave out and she was suddenly silenced and couldn't move. Jasdevi was near her.

"Stay away from me!" She shouted at the shadow woman. She activated her Innocence and sliced her in two. 'Even if there's no point in fighting back, I won't stop fighting until the end.' Jasdevi fear disappeared.

Jasdevi was standing there, holding Lenalee in a bubble. Teal dashed up to Jasdevi and slashed them but they dodged it. Teal stared at where she thought where Devitto and Jasdero were. Jasdero was still hanging on to Lenalee. Devitto had a mark on his cheek because Lenalee punched him.

'Spell of Wind, Air Twister' Teal kicked a twister to them and they moved out of the way quickly and she followed them closely.

"What the-? How the hell did you find us?" Devitto shouted. Jasdero just stared at her.

"Don't tick me off and don't you dare hurt my friends. Release Lenalee or you'll have to face me."

Devitto and Jasdero both shot their guns at her. "Green bomb!" Something big was heading her way. She jumped backwards and was hovering in air.

'Secondary Spell of Water: Freeze' Teal's underside of her boots turned to steel like ice. She turned the blob into ice, shattered it, and sent the shards towards Jasdevi. At the speed they were being sent at, the shards sent Devitto and Jasdero against the wall and they were pinned to the wall by their jackets.

"I told you, don't tick me off. It may be the worst mistake you ever made." She said. Lenalee was now on the ground in her bubble and Teal started walking to Lenalee.

"You alright?" Teal asked. She pulled something from her bag that was around her waist. It looked like a silver handle of some kind. She flicked it and a blade appeared.

"I'll let you out. And let me guess, they're standing right behind me, aren't they."

"Good guess, exorcist." Devitto hissed.

Teal punctured a hole and slipped the knife in the bubble but Jasdevi shot it away before it could go in. She turned to Jasdevi and they had their firearms pointed at her. She kicked off the ground and jumped backwards. Jasdevi chased her and shot various bullets at her. She was able to dodge most of them.

As she was focusing on where they were, the same voice who said 'Wrath' said 'Bonds… Materialization…'

"What kind of exorcist are you? You haven't even hit us yet!" Jasdero taunted.

"And what about your threat? 'Don't tick me off, or it'll be the worst mistake'?" Teal waited them to shoot a little more then she charged and attacked them. When they were on the ground, Teal was able to attack and give them decent damage. Their presence was just enough for her to get an idea of their location and attack them with her blades. After dealing a few hits each, they started to evade her and tried to get enough space between them to start shooting but she wasn't making it easy.

"Hmph. You're the ones who wanted to fight? Then fight instead of being cowards." Teal said when she could sense they were near her. She could hear them laughing.

"Cowards? Us? You're the one to talk." Teal followed the voices and tried to slash at the source. There was wind on both of her sides indicating they moved to where she was before.

"You're just frustrated that we all have you cornered, exorcist."

'Yellow Bomb!' Teal was blown away to Allen and Krory's direction and was knocked into the wall.

"You okay?" Allen sat Teal up when she was knocked down. Teal nodded and started breathing heavily.

"Any luck with the Earl?" Teal asked as she was putting pressure on her shoulder. They shook their heads. "I tried to get to Lenalee but they fought me. I've noticed that they only rely on their powers and do poorly for close combat."

There was a large flash of light coming from the archway. The trick glasses had vanished from everyone's faces. Everything was back to normal.

"Well done, Lavi! You found the right key!" Chaoji shouted. The room was empty again and the archway had turned into the next doorway.

'The door way was in the most obvious place.' Teal smacked herself on her forehead.  
"I...Found you!" Allen and Krory shouted. They punched Devitto and Jasdero and sent them flying to the wall.

"That…Felt good." They sighed.

"Allen, why didn't you use your claws?" Krory asked. Teal picked up her knife and let Lenalee out.

"I wanted them to pay for what they did to Lenalee." Teal just remained silent she went by Chaoji making sure he was okay.

'Why does it have to be this way?' She thought to herself. 'I wanted to see them again and they're the enemy. Even this is better than not meeting again. In all honesty, I don't want them to die. Please, God, if there's any way to save them, let me be the one.'


	10. Jasdevi's Tale

Jasdevi's Tale

"We're through playing games! Now we are really going to kill you!" Devitto and Jasdero stood themselves up from the rubble, badly injured. The air was suddenly getting heavier.

"This is exhausting," Krory said, "There's no telling what those two will do next. One minute they're behaving like fools, the next, they're throwing a tantrum. This is why I hate dealing with brats." Teal was standing beside him as she was staring at Devitto and Jasdero. She knew this feeling. It was vague but she knew the feeling.

"_There was one baby cradle. The one became two. One baby cradle covered in fog, a single star rocked in a graveyard and disappeared."_ After they sang this mysterious song, they shot each other.

"Look, their shadows…" Lenalee said. Everyone's attention was at Devitto and Jasdero as their shadows were forming and they were fading. They were bracing themselves for what was going to come out of the shadows. Smoke was starting to form.

"Allen, Teal, Arystar! Get away from there! Look above you!" Lavi shouted.  
There was a figure above them. Whatever it was, it threw Alistar to the wall and looked like Alistar was dead.

"That's one…" He said. The person was tall, had one eye showing with black makeup, and he had long blonde hair that was a mix of black at the top of his head. He had a long red uniform and blood red boots to match.

"Who is that?" Lavi asked. Teal's eyes widened. She remembered this figure very clearly now.

"We, that is, Devitto and Jasdero, began as one Noah. We are Jasdevi."  
Allen attacked Jasdevi but couldn't even scratch him.

"You killed Count Krory!" He shouted.

Jasdevi picked up Allen with one hand and placed him on a purple star that just appeared out of nowhere and started to electrocute him. "That vampire imposter? That's what he gets for mocking us! He needed to bleed a little. Now, what should we do with you, Allen? Ah, yes, we'll turn you into a bomb. A bomb to blow up the door."

"Allen!" Lenalee shouted.

Teal ran up and made Jasdevi move away from Allen. Jasdevi picked her up by her throat. He threw her against the wall behind the exorcists. She suffered a couple bruises and cuts because some debris fell on her.

"Teal!" Lenalee tried to help her up.

"I'm alright." Teal froze as she was trying to regain her breath.

There was an arm that came from the star that was holding Allen.

"The vampire?"

"I am not a vampire, I am Arystar Krory." Krory stood there. He was very bloody but very much alive.

"Do not call me a vampire!"

"Why should we listen to you? So you can still move after losing all that blood? You're a freak, aren't you?" Krory was falling down and Allen, Lavi and Teal caught him.

"Are you alright? You're pretty banged up."

"Yes, I'm fine." Krory said weakly. Allen lifted his arm. There was blood on his hand.

"How many flasks of blood do you have left?" Lavi asked silently.

"Three. The door is open. We can't stay here much longer."

"You can't escape." Jasdevi said behind them. "You're all going to die here." He used his hands to create a magic force that threw Allen back.

'Fire Stamp' Lavi created a pillar of fire that surrounded Jasdevi. He was resistant to the flames and counterattacked Lavi.

"Lavi!" Teal caught Lavi and he sustained a bad burn on his face. She was able to help him stand up again.

"You're all to slow." He was sitting on Lavi's hammer. "You exorcists should've built your bodies more and not rely so much on your anti-akuma weapons."

"How's this?" Teal shouted as she attacked Jasdevi but she was thrown back. Krory then jumped on his back and tried to hold him down.

"Weakling."

"Allen, Lavi! Get the others out the next door!"

"What?"

"Get off me, you monster!" Jasdevi stabbed Krory again. There was another earthquake. More debris was falling from the ceiling. One was falling toward Lenalee and she didn't notice it.

"Look out!" Teal pushed Lenalee and the rock was about to land on her.

"Teal!" Lenalee shouted. Teal kicked the rock in the air and moved out of the way.

"Go NOW! This room won't last much longer."

"I'll stay behind!" Allen shouted.

"I said go!"

"But you're injured!"

"All the more reason. Someone has to protect Lenalee and Chaoji. Allen, Lavi, Teal, you're the only ones who can do that. I believe in you! Go now!"

There was a flash in between Allen and Krory.

"Arystar!" Lenalee and Teal screamed.

"Lord Exorcist!"

First Kanda told them to go on. Now Krory. How much more do they have to be separated? Now the exorcists understood what was necessary to survive. All they could do was believe in each other. Everyone ran through the door. When Krory was thrown off of Jasdevi's back, everyone was gone.

"I can't accept that I let them get away. I'll go after them." Jasdevi started walking through the door.

'I can't tell the Earl about the debts, we're going to be toast if he finds out. And if Tyki hurts her, I'll make sure he pays for it.' Krory threw a flask at Jasdevi as he was going out the door.

"You're not going anywhere, brat."

-  
"We have to go back! He's hurt!" Lenalee tried to struggle through Allen's grip. She was going back to help Arystar.

"Lenalee," Allen started.

"Let me go! We can't lose anymore of our people!" Allen put her hands on Lenalee's cheeks.

"Lenalee, he'll be alright."

"We'll all go home together." Teal added.  
"Where there's a will there's a way." She laughed and she gave a hug to try to reassure Lenalee.

"Kanda and Alistar knew what they were doing." Allen continued. "I haven't given up on them. This isn't like you." He released her. "You're supposed to be the big sister here, remember?"

"And your other older siblings haven't given up either." Lavi said. "Anyway, he still has those three flasks left. So I wouldn't count him out yet." He smiled confidently.

-  
"What did you just drink? Don't tell me its human blood." Jasdevi said. He picked up the flask and licked it. It tasted like a dead body. He gagged and threw it away.

"You must be insane to drink this stuff! Don't you realize the kind of monster you are? You must have been rejected by your own people. I bet that's why your comrades were so happy to get rid of you. Because you were a monster." Jasdevi taunted. Krory sat himself up.

"I bet that's what humans used to call you." He replied.

-  
'Monster…Monster…'

'You two are nothing but monsters.' Ever since we were little, we had strange powers and were rejected by everyone. Even our own parents rejected us. We had to power to make imaginary things come to life. We couldn't make friends because we changed into something accidentally and we hurt them. There were rumors about us all over and everyone started calling us monsters.

"Don't expect to belong in a world that isn't meant for monsters." Our father told us when he was hitting us. "The world is going to be HELL for you two brats. It is nothing more than a dark, cold place." One day, our mother took her life. That day our father lost it. After she died, he took us somewhere and left us there.

We weren't on the streets for long. An orphanage took us in and we refused to make any friends. They were just more people to hate us. Even when we kept to ourselves, they still hated us because they heard about us somehow. It's infuriating. People giving us sympathetic looks that hide hate. What good does that do? All we have is each other. And that is how it is going to stay.

"Ah great. Another room inspection." Jasdero moaned as he and Devitto just came back from dinner.

"Who cares? They're not gonna do anything anyway. The director's not gonna get mad at us." Devitto was sitting on his bed. There were light and rapid footsteps coming towards their room.

"Can't they just leave us alone? I'll deal with it." Devitto shot up and swung the door open.

"Get lost!" A girl was standing in front of me and she didn't even flinch. She looked curiously at me then went into our room and looked curiously at Jasdero. She was wearing a blue and green dress and had fairly long brown hair.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Devitto snapped. 'This girl was probably sent by the other kids to get something from us.' She didn't respond. She continued to look at everything curiously.

"Hey, are you new here? I don't think we've seen you around here." Jasdero stood up and confronted her. She touched his sleeve and tried to lift his arm to get a better look.

"You're weird." Jasdero smiled.

"Sorry, boys." The director was standing in our doorway out of breath. "This girl arrived a few hours ago and apparently, she's extremely curious about… well everything. Dear, this is Devitto and Jasdero." She pointed at us 'respectively'. "And I'm afraid I don't know who she is." She smiled. The girl went up to Devitto and observed him carefully.

"What is it, Shorty? Out with it."

"Ah?" She started to reach for me but she stopped and screamed. She covered her mouth and fell to the ground.

"Oh dear. Please don't take it personally, boys. You didn't do anything wrong." The director took her away shortly after that. Lies. All lies. She blames us.

"That look…" Jasdero started. "It was like she saw what we are."

"Who knows? Best to keep to ourselves, like we always do." Over the next few days, we've noticed that the new girl was watching us almost constantly. She kept her distance, but she was always watching us.

"All right everyone! Time to pick teams."

"Gym sucks. We never get to do anything fun." Devitto moaned.

"I know. We're playing stupid Chinese baseball. Maybe we can be on the same team for once, Devi! Y'know since that girl showed up."

"Hm. You're right. Since we're always picked last, we might actually be on the same team."

After all the kids were in positions, Jasdero was the first kicker and he kicked the ball really far. It didn't go very high and it hit that girl in the head and knocked her down.

'Crap! If she starts crying, I'm dead.' "Hey, are you okay?" Jasdero ran over to her. She managed to sat herself up and she started to poke the ball.

"Please don't tell the director." He whispered.

"Eh…" She looked up at Jasdero and Devitto ran up to his brother.

"Jasdero, what's going on? Did you find the ball yet? You kicked it pretty far." Devitto panted. "Oh. You hit her? Damn. We're screwed."

"Screwed…" The girl whispered. She pointed at Jasdero and said his name. "Ja- Jasdero."

"Hey! You-you just talked!" She pointed at Devitto. "Screwed." Devitto froze in shock.

"What did you just call me?" He twitched. "This would hilarious if she called somebody else that."

"No, that's Devitto." Jasdero smiled. The girl tilted her head a bit.

"De- Devitto?" She smiled. "Screwed."

"Are you trying to be funny or something?"

After that, she followed us everywhere. At first, we were uneasy about it. She easily could've hated us but somehow, we had a feeling she was different.

"So what's your name, Shorty?" Devitto asked her while they were having lunch one day.

"Shorty?" She pointed at herself.

"Uh, Devi, why'd you give her a nickname already?"

"Why? Because she's shorter than us. And I think the director said something about her being a year younger than us."

"Name… Teal." She smiled and pointed at herself.

"Your name is Teal?" Jasdero asked. Devitto snorted and laughed.

"I'm Teal?" She had a confused look on her face.

"Yes. I guess. I'll be right back." Jasdero headed to the supervisor's table and was talking to the director.

"You know something? You're kind of funny." Devitto said after he stopped laughing. "I find it funny that you give people weird names. I've got a feeling you've got a lot to learn. And I could teach you what to call other people like… Stupid head." Devitto pointed behind him unintentionally. Teal turned around and one of the teachers was walking behind them.

"Stup-" Devitto covered her mouth before she got them both in trouble. "On second thought, let's work on common sense."

"Mmph." She pointed beside him.

"Oh, hey Jasdero." He let go of Teal.

"Jasdero!" Teal smiled and gave him a hug.

"Hi Teal." He returned the hug. Whenever either of them had left, whenever they came back, she always greeted them with a hug.

"Where'd you go?" Devitto asked.

"I went to ask the director if Teal was a real name. She said that she didn't think so but then another teacher said it was. Although it's the name of a duck." Devitto started to laugh again.

"Sorry. Sorry. So Teal it is."

"Screwed."

"Okay, that is getting old!" He head locked her and gave her a noogie.

Teal was an odd girl in a way. We did come to really like her. She knew that we were different, but she still accepted us. And no one really depended on us before and that made us happy. But who knows how long that would last? Our powers could just… occur at any time. And it will ruin everything. We may just end up killing her. For at least 2 years, we were able to restrain our powers. We remember that day when she saw our true form.

"Hey, Devitto, Jasdero, let's go explore the bush today!" Teal was talking about a small wood not far from our orphanage. It was beyond our park area and not many of the kids go there because it's said to be haunted. It was haunted by us. The wood wasn't that big and there weren't many large animals around so it was perfect for us. For a few nights now, we managed to slip to the woods to become THAT. Then we would be back by dawn. No one knows about us. Yet.

"Do what?" Jasdero lifted his head up.

"Explore the bush!" She stood on the ladder to the top bunk. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Get up! I bet were gonna see a black and white kitty with a long tail like in our books!"

"Teal, that's a SKUNK." Devitto moaned while his face was down. "We don't want to run into one."

"Wake up, Devitto! Wake up!" She jumped down and started shaking him. "Please come with me to explore the bush. The director says I have to be with somebody. Everyone else is being a chicken for some reason." She whined. Devitto turned his head and Teal was giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Uh… N-no." He turned his head away.

"Please?"

"No."

"C'mon, Screwed!" She started to shake him again.

"Okay." He head locked her and gave her a noogie. "Just don't call me that. Why did you start calling me 'screwed' again?"

"Since the 'puppy eyes' don't work."

"And who taught you THAT?" He raised an eyebrow. Teal automatically pointed up.

"Jasdero." Devitto stood on his bed and glared at Jasdero who was laughing hysterically.

"Don't. EVER. Teach. Her. THAT. Or anything like it!" He snarled. Teal joined in Jasdero's laughter.

"You're funny when you're angry Devitto."

"So Teal, why did you want to explore the woods today? Aren't you usually afraid of it?" Jasdero asked.

"Well~ I had this funny dream about the woods then I woke up, thought about the sk-skunk?" She turned to Devitto and he gave her a nod. "Then I was thinking what else we might find. I have a feeling we're gonna find something good! And I'm not afraid of the bush now!" She smiled.

"You're weird." Devitto laughed. "Make up your mind will ya? Are we definitely gonna find something or run into something bad?"

"Um… Yes! Find something good! Eh? Are you two okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" Devitto and Jasdero said at the same time.

"You look… Not good. Should we head back?"

"No. You wanted to come here so we'll stay for a while."

'Come to think of it, we don't feel so good either.' It was getting harder to breathe and both of us hurt all over. We only felt this way when we changed into that.

'Please don't let us change in front of her.' We were begging. We all started to climb trees and gathered some apples and chestnuts. Out of all the things to do at the orphanage, this was our favourite hobby.

"Hey! There's a raspberry bush!" Teal pointed out. We couldn't hold back any more and when she was picking berries to add to our stash, we ran.

"Eh? Devitto? Jasdero?" Before we knew it, she saw us. Her eyes were wide open with fear. Like that night we first met her. In that form, we were bleeding from our head and we hurt all over. To others, they saw us as a monster. That's what we were in her eyes."

"Who- who are you?" We just took off. No point in sticking around if the only person you care about hates you.

'She saw me! She saw me! There's no hope now!' We kept on running to the part of the woods where it lead to a cliff.

"Who am I kidding?" Jasdevi shed a tear. "I'm a monster. So I should live like a monster. And die like a monster. With no one. Alone."

"Wait!" We heard her call behind us. She was panting. "Jasdero? Devitto? Is that you? Why are you running from me?"

It was rather surprising that she could recognize us. Or she has good acting skills. She was still showing signs of fear.

"Don't… Don't come any closer!"

"W-why?" Something blew up beside her and even the blast wasn't able to make her run.

"This is why no one wants us! This is why we were abandoned! This is why no one cares about us!" Jasdevi cried. Teal ran up to him and grabbed on to his arm.

"I care about you. Please don't go!"

"Lies!" He tried to get her off but she wouldn't budge.

"If there's… one person who cares about you, you shouldn't throw your life away. I'm not going to let you die!" She looked at us tearfully and bravely. She was afraid of us. But that didn't stop her from stopping us. Where did this brave little girl come from?

"Teal… Are you… Crying because you're afraid of us?"

"I am afraid of you. But you're my friends. I'm more afraid of losing you." She continued to cry. She let go of us and we hugged her. She was hugging back.

"Thank you, thank you." We said over and over.

Later that night, we did change back into ourselves and we managed to explain what we could to her. At this point, her curiosity overcame her fear.

"So you had these powers since you were born?" Devitto and Jasdero both nodded.

"Do you know what you can do?"

"Not really." Jasdero said.

"Okay. I don't know how to help with that. But no matter what, I promise to be with you. Just like you've been there for me. Oh! And I promise to keep it a secret." Teal put a finger to her lips.

Over the next two years, our occurrences happened more frequently. When we had to hide in the woods for a while, Teal would make sure that the supervisor didn't know and later came to join us to keep us company. In the spring and summer, we'd get the best stash of berries and in winter, we had snow ball fights and made tracks in the snow.

Weeks before our eleventh birthday, a man showed up, claiming to adopt us. When we met him, he was rather large, had grey skin, a big tall hat and weird ears. Oh yeah, and this huge grin that creeped us out.

"Hello, you must be Jasdero and Devitto.~"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Devitto said.

"I've heard that you two are… special. And I would like you to join my family."

"NO." They said at the same time. Jasdero got a glimpse at the door and noticed that Teal was standing just outside.

"Sorry, but we don't just let anyone adopt us." Devitto said.

"But I'm aware of your situation. And your powers." Their eyes were wide open. How did he know?

"What are you playing at?"

"I can offer a home where you won't be judged because of who you are. There are others like you and I can help you control your powers and put them to good use.~ Without my help it could be very destructive."

"I guess that's good." Jasdero said.

"Yeah sounds nice. But we have a favour to ask." Devitto said. "Can you adopt our friend Teal too? She's been with us and we don't really want to be separated."

"Oh?~ Interesting." The man glanced at the door briefly and was aware of her presence since the crack got bigger. Teal moved away after he saw her. "I'm sorry boys. I'm afraid I can't. I'd really love to but I can only adopt children like you. She's not like you.~"

"Then… Then we're staying!" Devitto said.

"But Devi- What about our powers? If we can't control them, Teal might get hurt." Devitto stayed silent for a while then agreed.

"You got adopted?"

"Yeah. We leave tonight. Apparently, that guy wants to take us as soon as possible."

"Teal… We're sorry, but you can't come with us. We asked him if he could adopt you but he says he can't." Devitto said. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay. It's just… I have a mixed feeling about this. I'm really happy for you. You're gonna go to a new home and get stronger. But we can't be together anymore."

Jasdero gave her a hug to comfort her because she looked like she was about to cry.

"It's okay. It is just gonna be the start of an adventure, right?" Jasdero said. "We'll see each other again."

"Ri-right." Teal nodded.

"Promise us." Devitto said. "We'll meet again. And we'll all become stronger. Alright?"

"Kay! I'll become stronger too! I'll look forward to the day that we meet again."

She went with us to the door and we exchanged our final goodbyes. We gave her a black and gold ribbon as a final present and we left with a person, Tyki and one other man to a carriage that took us to that person's place.

We did like where we were going to live, a lot. We were surprised that we were going to help this man, the Millennium Earl, or Lord Millennium make this world a better place. That means exterminating humans that have poisoned this world. Not all humans would be exterminated. If they sided with Lord Millennium, they would be spared. The others have been poisoning this world and we didn't mind killing them. They were all jerks and hated us so they deserve to die.

One day, we received word that an akuma arrived at our old orphanage and killed many of the children and teachers. There were no survivors. We couldn't bear it. The only person who ever cared for us has died. She might as well have been someone from a dream. Lord Millennium noticed our sorrow and offered to erase our memories to erase the pain. There was nothing left for us from our past so we agreed.

Over the past weeks, the memories were restored. At first it was bothering us then it didn't matter. What matters is that we had each other and that was all we need. Seeing her again for the first time as an exorcist, it makes us want to kill her. She betrayed us. Maybe, somewhere deep down, we feel like we want to see her just one more time. If the girl who cared for a monster was still alive.


	11. Black and White

Black and White

"Is there any end to these stairs?" Lavi complained. The exorcists were in a room that had stairs everywhere. Most of them weren't even connected to the one they were on and some were upside down.

"We'll get there eventually." Teal replied as she was following Lenalee and Allen. Allen was leading Lenalee by her hand so she could walk. Teal was right behind her in case she fell back.

"Boy, if Komui saw you like this, he'd be ticked. Good thing Timcanpy isn't here." Lavi grinned. Allen stopped in his tracks, gave a small laugh, and continued on.

"Trade places, I wanna be in front!" Lavi moved beside Allen.

"You're not fooling anyone, Lavi." Allen said.

"Do they always argue like this, Miss Exorcist?" Chaoji asked Teal.

"Yeah. But this is nothing compared to when they argue with Kanda." Teal laughed. "And I wouldn't even consider arguing with Kanda."

"I…I've got to try harder." Everyone heard Lenalee say something.

"Are you tired, Lenalee? I can carry you if you want." Allen offered.

"No, I'm fine. When we get back, I just have to train harder that's all."

"You know Lenalee, if you don't stop acting tough, you'll never find a boyfriend." After Lavi made that compliment, he earned himself a smack from Allen and Teal.

"That's none of your business Lavi!" Lenalee shouted while she shook him.

"Shut up, Lavi!" Allen and Teal said as they punched him.

"I know it's none of my business but… what are you guys going to do when we get back?" Lenalee grabbed on to his collar.

"I'll eat." Allen stated monotonically. "I'll eat everything Jerry cooks for me."

'Figures' the exorcists thought.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do. I think I want to read. Or hey, Lenalee, how about we get together with Miranda and have a girl's day out in town?"

"Sounds fun." Lenalee smiled.

"You like that kind of stuff? I guessed that since you are a former yanki, you are more interested in fights for fun and things like that." Lavi said.

"I admit I have a few of my yanki habits and I act (and mostly dress) more like a guy but I've still got some feminism in me."

"So then, you can still…" Lavi began.

"Don't go there." Teal cut him off.

Chaoji was laughing behind them. Allen tilted his head a bit. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, it's just that you exorcists are just ordinary people. I figured that being as apostles of God, you would be different and wouldn't do things like tell jokes or laugh or be afraid or anything like that." He gushed.

Allen put his hand on Chaoji's. "If you're afraid, it's best to think of happy things. It'll be alright."

"This is no time to relax, Lero!" Lero shouted. The exorcists finally came to the top of the stairs. There was a white portal and they all went through.

"Be quiet, Lero." Allen ordered. "What I want most is to be reunited with our friends. No matter what, I refused to give up."

"Alleeeeen!" There was a girl with spiky hair that glomped Allen. Lavi and Teal were right behind him.

"Road?!"

Road suddenly just kissed him. Allen was paralyzed in shock. Lavi was shaking Allen to snap himself out of his dazed state.

"Mistress Road! You are not supposed to kiss an exorcist!" Lero shouted at her. Teal was examining the room and she saw that Road wasn't the only one in here. There was nothing in the room except a very long table. At the end of the table was Tyki Mikk looking just as shocked as Lavi and the others.

"Road, did you like him that much? I've never seen her kiss anyone but the Millennium Earl before."

"I never kiss Tyki." Road sang as she was twirling towards the end of the table.

"Well, go on, sit." Tyki ordered. "I got hungry while I was waiting. Shall we dine? It'll give us a chance to chat before we get down to business." This was a very strange request coming from an enemy.

"No thanks. I'll have my meals when I have time to enjoy them." Allen replied coldly.

"Time? Would you like to know how much time you have left?" Tyki asked slyly.

"Look outside. It's a spectacular view." Road said cheerfully. The exorcists ran to the window. There was nothing but a blue sky and a small area underneath the tower.

"The town!" Lavi shouted. Everyone was shocked.

"Everything's gone." Teal said quietly.

"Yes, Deceiver. There is less than one hour left. The only thing that remains in this ark is the tower we are in. I've destroyed everything else." Tyki replied. There was a 'SLAM' behind the exorcists. Road had kicked and locked the only way out. "Sit down." She ordered. "Or are you afraid?" she taunted.

The exorcists slowly walked to the chairs at the other end of the table and obeyed the Noah. Allen sat at the chair at the end. Lenalee and Lavi were sitting on his left hand side and Teal and Chaoji sat on his right.

"Well, now that we are all here, we can take a minute to talk." Tyki glared at Allen and Teal. The exorcists just returned glares with suspicious eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. It's not a trap. I told you I wouldn't play dirty."

"Don't worry Allen, "Road whispered. "There's a portal waiting at the top of this tower."

"I just hope it takes us back to our world." Allen replied as Road giggled. Teal looked across from her and she saw that Lenalee was almost in tears. She knew why: everything was gone. That included Kanda and Krory. Teal was worried about them too. She was also worried about Jasdevi.

Then she remembered something: earlier, she felt very sad like one of her friends died, but it was that Noah that died. Now that half the town was gone, she didn't feel like Jasdevi was dead. 'So,' she thought, 'Kanda was able to take that guy down and it affected me and the other Noah. I saw it in a vision when I was knocked down by Jasdevi. The library is gone, both Jasdevi and Krory with it. I didn't feel any sorrow when the library vanished. Even if they are brutally hurt, Krory, Kanda and Jasdevi are still alive. Question is: how do we get them back? If we leave, they will all die. Hmm… I know I've been here.'

Teal saw something flash in the corner of her eye. Chaoji hide a knife in a cloth that was on his lap.

'Chaoji,' Teal whispered sharply, 'don't try it, these aren't ordinary people. Trying to attack them to knife is like attacking a porcupine with a toothpick.'

'But Teal,' Chaoji replied, 'they are the people who are responsible for Anita and the others to be sent to their graves. There's no way I'll forgive them.'

'I understand how you feel. But they have unimaginable powers and can easily kill anyone.'

'Easy for you to say, you are just like them, you are our enemy. It was your fault that the others on the ship died. If you weren't on the ship, the others would still be alive.' Teal didn't know what to say. What he said was true: if they weren't looking for her, everyone who died might've been spared.

"What do you want to talk about, Tyki Mikk?" Allen asked. Teal and the others turned their attention to Tyki Mikk and Allen. "You are still just an 'orphan vagabond with sticky fingers'."

"Don't be nasty boy. You are the first exorcist that stripped a Noah down to his underwear. Don't you think we're linked by fate?"

"Not really, I've stripped lots of guys down to their underwear lots of times while playing cards." Allen replied monotonically. "Shall I show you what I mean?" Allen raised his black claw.

"Well, what do you know? I'm sure I destroyed that arm."

"You couldn't have, it's right here."

"Oh, are you interested in Innocence Tyki?" Road asked.

"A little. So your Innocence somehow saved you after the tease punctured your heart, eh?" Everyone diverted their attention back to Allen.

"What?! You never told us about that!" Lavi and Lenalee shouted.

'I was keeping it a secret.' Allen thought. Both he and Teal knew that it was his Innocence that acted on its own.

"His heart was mended by particles of Innocence. He's fine!" Road smiled at the exorcists.

'Allen too?' Lavi realized. 'Teal and Lenalee weren't the only ones. They're all unusual. There should only be one person who has the heart.'

"Did you record it Bookman?" Road asked in his head.

'Did she just?'

Teal heard Road's question as well. She turned her head to Road.

'I see some of your powers have awakened, Teal. Only Noah can hear me.' Road whispered to her.

"Road, please get away from that boy." Tyki ordered.

"Eh?! But I love him!" Road cried as she squeezed Allen.

"Love between an Exorcist and a Noah is impossible." Allen said flatly.

"Speaking of which," Tyki glared at Teal. 'Oh great, they know. That's the last thing I need.'

"Why are you still staying with the exorcists? You are just like us and yet you are fighting with our enemy. If you were on our side, we can end this war once and for all. After all, you hold Noah's 'Memories'. If I remember correctly, 'Memories' can be pretty powerful."

'Phew, thank goodness it wasn't that. But still…'

"Who I decide to fight for is my choice. I have no intentions of joining the Noah Clan." Teal replied calmly. "Flattery won't get you anywhere so don't try to convince me."

"Is that so? I see you're extremely stubborn. Well, enjoy your choice while you can. Later it may not be up to you." He faced Allen once more.

"I've been having a good time so far but… I suppose evil should comport itself with more gravity. Yes… You've help me realize something, boy. In a fight to the death, you've got to give it everything you've got." A tease was coming in by Lenalee. Allen was the only one who noticed it.

"Tyki Mikk, I have something to say too. If you hurt any of my friends again…" The tease landed on Lenalee's shoulder but Allen destroyed it, "I will have to kill you."

Allen went on the table and ran to Tyki Mikk's end. Teal and Lavi rose out of their chairs about to help him. Road stopped right in front of them.

"Tyki likes Allen too, don't interfere. Let's play, Bookman!" Road cackled. Teal jumped over the table to where Lavi is but while she was in mid-air, a huge glass dice missed her by inches. She looked back and Lenalee and Chaoji were concealed in it.

'What?!' "Lenalee! Chaoji!" Lavi and Teal both shouted.

"We're all right, we just can't get out." Teal activated her blades and boots and tried to shatter the glass.

"Teal, behind you!" Lenalee shouted. Another wall of glass was about to encase her and the dice that Lenalee and Chaoji were in. Teal jumped into the air just in time using her boots. All the glass did was it removed the cracks that Teal made.

"That's right, they're safe for now. Let's play Bookman!"

"Alright Noah girl. Road, was it? If I win, you let them go." Lavi extended his hammer into ready position. She landed beside him and before Teal knew it Lavi collapsed on his knees and his eyes were vacant. His hammer dropped beside him.

"Lavi! Lavi!" Teal shouted his name as she shook him, hoping for him to snap out of his trance like state.

"What's wrong Lavi?" Lenalee shouted behind them.

"He won't respond!" Teal replied. Then glared at Road. 'What I am I going to do? If I help Allen, Road might do something horrible to Lavi. If I help Lenalee or Chaoji, I'll probably be caught again. I'll stay with Lavi so nothing bad should happen. But then again, Road might be able to attack him from the inside. Okay, really annoying random voice, what is Road's power?'

'Dreams' a voice answered in her head.

"Your power scares me the most Mistress Road." Lero said.

"Now, where should I stab this Bookman's heart to make it bleed? I hope his blood is red like candy."

"Not if I can help it Road." Teal said. "You aren't going anywhere near Lavi!"

"I don't have to. Our powers are different and yet, they are similar in some way. The only way to help him is to go into his heart and I'm the only one who can do that. However, I will this: hearts hold memories."

'I won't resort to that! There has to be another way!' Teal shut her eyes tight. 'If I resort to that, I'm not sure I'll be able to come back.' She placed her hand on Lavi's forehead. 'My Dimensional Scream might help. I'll be able to see what's going on.'

------------------------------------

Everything vanished and she was at the order's waterway. Teal was on a boat. Bookman was across from her and Lavi was too. He wasn't wearing his headband and he was wearing a green shirt. There was no emotion on this Lavi's face. Teal turned to her left. Lavi was right beside her and wearing a different uniform. He had a beige poncho with his headband in his hair.

'Two Lavi's?!' She turned to Lavi beside her. "Lavi, what did Road do to you?" There was no response from him. She reached for his shoulder. "Lavi, you've got to get out of here! Road's going to stab…" she cut herself off when her hand passed right through him. 'Did Road make him immune to me?'

"It's pointless to get his attention. You are nothing more than a ghost to everyone when you use your ability." A voice said to her. It was the other Lavi.

"Then, how come you?"

"I am a spirit. If I were you, I'd be more worried about what I'll do to the Lavi you know instead of what Road will do. Road is opening the door, the rest is up to me." Teal tried her best to escape the vision but it seems like she was being held back. Before she knew it, the Lavi that was across from her suddenly kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry to hold you back, consider this as a last goodbye for Lavi." Everything suddenly came back.

Teal was leaning against Lavi, who was still on his knees, staring into space. She covered her mouth and just stared at the ground.

'I can't believe he kissed me! What does he mean…?' When Teal looked on the ground, it was transparent and the floor was far away. She and Lavi were in a glass case like Lenalee and Chaoji.

"Teal! Are you alright?!" Lenalee shouted. The glass dice was floating by them.

"Yes. I used my ability, that's all. I'm not sure Lavi's alright. I'm afraid I can't do anything for him. How long have I been out?"

"A while. You fell against Lavi and weren't moving or responding to me and we were worried."

"Where's Allen?"

"In there." Road answered Teal's question. She pointed to a black orb that was absorbing everything. "Tyki created a vacuum and Allen's trapped in there. I don't think he'll last very long."

Teal heard a 'thwam' beside her over and over again.

"Lenalee! Don't use your legs! You can permanently damage them and you won't be able to walk again." Teal shouted. "I'll get out and help Allen!" Lenalee burst into tears.

"I just can't stand waiting here while my friend is fighting." She cried.

"Lenalee, you can do this, I know you can. I know it's hard to bear this but you can pull through." Teal said. She stepped forward to the glass. 'Innocence, Activate!'

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, Teal." Road called. "If you escape, you will just be captured again." Teal deactivated her weapons.

'Okay, I need another strategy. And fast! I can't let Allen die. Lavi could get sucked into that vacuum if I'm not careful.'

The vacuum started to glow a bright eerie green color. The orb suddenly disappeared and Allen and Tyki reappeared. Allen was missing his entire left arm but was wielding a huge sword.

"What happened, Tyki?" Road asked.

"He… is an unusual human. This doesn't seem so funny anymore. Did I bring out something terrible in him?" Allen emerged from the smoke that was created after the orb was gone.

'What is this feeling? Some terrible power is coming from Allen.' Teal and Lenalee asked themselves.

Allen sliced the sword right across Tyki. Everyone was mortified. Allen hated killing humans and yet he cut down one. Teal took another look. Tyki wasn't even scratched.

"I'm…not…dead?"

"I didn't cut your flesh. What I destroyed was… your Noah." Something was leaving Tyki's body. It was rapid shadows that were vanishing into thin air. Tyki was screaming in pain.

"It kills the demon but leaves the man alive. That is the power the Crown Clown and I possess."

Road jumped from Lero and ran straight to Tyki. Tyki was on his knees and signaled Road to stop. Allen gave him the final blow and Tyki collapsed. His dark gray skin was losing its color and reverted to a normal color, and his crosses on his forehead were fading.

"He did it…" Teal said quietly as she pressed her hand against the glass.

"Hurray!" Chaoji cheered. "You killed the demon!" His sentence was finished by candles that stabbed him mildly in the back.

"Don't move or I'll kill you." Road said. Candles were floating everywhere, pointing at everyone.

"I'm a little angry right now." Road hugged Tyki's lifeless body. "I really do like you Allen. But family comes first, don't you agree? I'm going to make you pay anyway. I'm going to give you red-haired friend what's coming to him. Lavi, his spirit is inside me right now. I'm going to stab his heart."

Everyone remained motionless as the candles aimed at them.

"Lavi…" Teal knelt down beside him.

"If you don't want your friends to die, wait patiently for me to destroy 'Lavi'." She laughed.

Lavi lifted his hand. A strange black mark surrounded his eye. 'It's time, come, you are free.' Road commanded. The case opened. Teal clung on to Lavi's arm and they both fell out. Teal did not let go until they both reached the ground.

"Allen, something sad has come to my attention. If you want your friends to be safe, you will have to kill that."

"What?!" Allen shouted.

"You better hurry." Road said. Some of Road's candles turned into drills and started to break through the glass. Lavi started to move towards Allen. Teal dropped on her hands, kicked Lavi's feet to make him fall.

"Lavi, stop! Snap out of it." She shouted as she rose. Lavi just ignored her and pushed her away. Another glass case came from the ground but she luckily dodged it too. She noticed as Lavi was staggering as if he was possessed.

"Allen, I think Lavi is possessed by a spirit or something! Use your sword!" Teal shouted. Allen did as he was told but it had no effect and Lavi pinned him down.

"Lavi isn't possessed! He lost his heart. If you are going to attack, you have to use your claws, Allen. Or you'll have to find a way to restore his heart. Better hurry." The drill candles were half way through the glass dice.

Lavi had his hammer ready and was about to strike.

'Spell of Wind' She knocked Lavi away from Allen but Lavi knocked her down again. This time, Lavi hit her so hard that he broke Teal's ankle when she crashed into the wall.

"Lavi, can't you hear our voices? Aren't you our friend?"

"I'm nobody's friend." He replied flatly. "'I' am a successor of Bookman, That's all I am."

"No matter what you do or say, he won't listen. He's not your comrade. He just joined your side for the sake of records." Road shouted.

"Allen! There has to be another way! Stop it, please!" Lenalee cried.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee, there isn't." Allen replied. His mouth was covered in blood after Lavi hit him again.

"Actually, there is another way." Allen, Lenalee and Chaoji stared at Teal. "If Lavi lost his heart, I might be able to buy him some time so he can come back. If something goes wrong, please, kill me if you can."

"What?! Teal what are you…!" Lenalee shouted. Then it hit her. "Teal, no! You mustn't! There has to be another way other than that!" Teal just looked up and smiled.

"I'm sorry." She walked to Lavi and waved her hand. Lavi just froze in mid air and a bit of distance away from Allen but it wasn't quite enough for him to escape. She also noticed that Road wasn't going to do anything to stop her.

"What do you plan to do now?" Lavi asked. It wasn't Lavi's voice. It was a cold, deep and unfeeling voice that was in Lavi's body. Teal ignored him and placed her hand over his eyes.

A strange feeling came across her body. Something in her head was instructing her on how to use her powers. Within a moment all the things this Lavi experienced were appearing right in front of her. Her friends and the ark have vanished. She somehow felt as if time had stopped in the real world.

She was at the Order where she saw Lavi in the boat. There were caskets everywhere and illusions of their friends and comrades. They were undead and were going to attack Lavi with knives. Teal's rage was building. 'I'm going to make you pay.' She summoned all of her power to summon the memories of Lavi's Dark heart.

"Now, where should I hurt you like you hurt Lavi?" Teal's anger had taken over and her Noah had possessed her body. "Ah, here's a good one." She cast her spell and within seconds, Lavi was screaming, clutching his head. Teal was clutching her head as well once she realized what just happened.

'No… no... I went too far. I've got… to hold her back… she's not going to hurt my friends! Find Lavi… I got to find Lavi!' Teal didn't have to search far to find him. "Lavi!" she shouted. Her body was holding her back. A voice was telling her 'destroy'. "Lavi! Lavi!" She called. He had a knife in his stomach and blood was spewing from his mouth.

"Whose there?"

"It's me, Teal. _Now give me the knife!_"

"Teal?!" He looked up and Teal was struggling. To him, she was starting to fade. A shadow was consuming her and her voice was getting weaker.

" I don't have much time." She searched through Lavi's memories.

'_Finish him_' the voice commanded.

'No, you don't control me!' She made Lavi see a memory of his friends at the Order. "Lavi… I know that you only were supposed to join us for records. But what you fail to realize is that you found another reason." Teal recoiled and screamed in pain. "Lavi, remember who you are!" She vanished as the shadow completely consumed her body.

When she was back in the ark, everything was exactly the way it was. It was like she just walked up to Lavi and nothing happened.

"Al…len…" She backed away from Lavi, still holding her head. "I…can't…hold on!" She collapsed on her knees.

"Allen… please…"

"Teal?" Lenalee noticed that her friend was in pain.

"Teal!" Allen shouted.

"It's useless to call her." Lavi said. "I was just the bait."

"I predicted that her Noah would react…" Road continued. "If she got angry enough. When she activated her ability, I happened to notice how her Noah was controlling her before. Lavi, stand down until I say so."

"Teal!" Allen called. She just stood there. "Teal, are you alright?!"

"Don't call me like that, you stupid exorcist!" She kicked him that sent him flying.

"I thought you would be an actual challenge. Exorcists are so weak. You have no chance against me." Allen looked up. Teal's eyes changed color to a dark gold like the other Noah and her wrist was bleeding. She started to beat Allen mercilessly and tormented him with the memory of him bringing back Mana so he couldn't fight back.

"So what gives you the idea to think that there is any hope for your friends? You'll all die anyway." Teal yanked Allen's hair so he could look her in the eye.

"Answer me!"

"I…just believe. Teal, this is not who you are!"

"I can hear it all right, loud and annoying." She punched him on the cheek.

"Mistress Deceiver, you are supposed to kill the exorcist, Lero!"

"Shut up, you stupid umbrella! Or do you want to be my guinea pig to what I can really do?"

"Shutting up, Lero!"

"Wow, she's meaner than I thought." Road smiled. "But don't kill my Allen!" She called.

"Teal, I know you are strong. If I learned anything about you, it's that you don't give up, no matter how hard the situation is for you or for any of us. Please, don't give up fighting this Noah!"

Teal's eyes changed to blue and her expression softened. "Allen?" Her voice changed back to normal as if she was back. Allen gave a sigh of relief. "Psych!" Teal hit him in the stomach again and threw him near Lavi. Lenalee shouted for her to stop but her pleas were ignored. Allen was almost paralyzed.

"The girl you know is as good as gone. She's nothing but my puppet. She was nothing more than a host for my return. When she finally was able to have her own life, she cast me aside. Now, she is cast aside and will cease to exist. Don't despair, young exorcist, you'll see her again… In the afterlife. Road, let your pet have some fun. I'll finish…" Teal backed off.

"Teal?" Road asked. Once more, Teal was clutching her head. "You're…wrong…There is something I can do about it!"

"_Enough!" _Teal's Noah screamed at her. _"You couldn't even save your own brother from me! Nor could you stop the ones you love from leaving. Your life is over! Your role is over! So hurry up and cross over to the afterlife."_

Lavi used his hammer. The fire snake was powered up even more. Teal used her immobilization spell on herself. Lenalee screamed in pain. She couldn't bear to see her friends like this.

"_You think that's going to stop me, by burning yourself? Your friend will destroy both of us." _Teal's Noah sneered.

"Wrong, I can survive fire, you can't." The fire snake engulfed Lavi, Allen, Road and Teal. The fire wasn't burning Allen. "Allen! Use your sword on me!" Teal shouted. Allen was hesitant but he stabbed her. "_You won't survive without your Noah! You know you can't stay alive without me._"

"Shut up." Teal used her blades to finish her the Deceiver off. Teal was in control of her body again then she shut her eyes. 'It is you who can't survive without me. I might've been your host but there is no way you could destroy 'me'.'

------------------------------

When Teal opened her eyes, all she saw was darkness she heard a familiar voice.

"Lavi…on three… one…"

Teal moved her arm and there was a wall right in front of her face.

"Two…" Teal kicked the wall and surprisingly enough, it shattered.

Allen and Lavi were gasping for air. "It… hurts to breathe. Did you…do that…?"

"That was me." Teal sat beside Allen and Lavi as they were gasping for air." You guys okay?" They both nodded. She hung her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"Allen! Lavi! Teal!" Lenalee was running to them with Chaoji behind her. "Thank goodness you are all right. And Lavi… DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN! YOU HAD ME WORRIED SICK!" She shook him by the coat. "AND SAME GOES FOR YOU, TEAL!" She gave Teal an evil glare that Kanda would approve of. And she hit Teal as well on the arm.

'That's gonna leave a mark.' "Lenalee… everyone… I'm sorry."

"You have got to use your heads! You shouldn't pull stunts like that without thinking without the consequences!" Lenalee was furious but she was very glad they were okay.

"A-At least we won't be seeing Teal's Noah anymore." Lavi looked at Teal.

"Actually that's not true. The spirit that was inside of me was the original Deceiver. She wanted to come back as herself and used me as a host. But now that she's gone, her powers are now mine, I am still a Noah. Allen's sword only destroyed her and failed to destroy my Noah."

"Speaking of Noah, since Road is gone, is her door still here?" Lenalee asked. Everyone almost forgot about that. Road was burned in Lavi's attack and disappeared afterwards. If she was gone, the door might be as well.

There was another earthquake.

"I'll go and check the top of the tower to see if the door is still there." Lavi said.

"I'll go with you, just in case." Teal said. She activated her weapon and traveled with Lavi to the top. There was a small landing and the door was there. Lavi went back to the hole.

"Grab on!" he shouted as he extended his hammer again. Shortly, Allen and the others were on the top floor. Teal could hear Lero's shouts at the bottom for the Earl. Allen turned around and activated his Innocence. Teal followed him.

"Where are you two going? The door is this way!" Lavi shouted.

"I'm going to get Tyki Mikk and Lero." Allen said.

"I am too."

"You can't be serious!" Lavi said.

"Tyki Mikk is a normal human now. And he has human friends who are waiting for his return." Teal said.

"I don't really have a problem with it. But if the Order finds out about you rescuing a Noah…"

"Rescue? You mean you didn't kill him?" Chaoji said. He looked terrified.

"He's still alive," Allen replied suspiciously.

"We exist to protect humans. Tyki Mikk is not a threat to us." Teal glared at Chaoji, hoping to reason with him but she didn't count on it.

"You're going to betray everyone who has died for us? Everything we've believed in? You are my enemy!"

Teal froze and stared into space muttering something.

"Teal? Teal, what's wrong?" Lenalee asked.

"Plea…sure… Noah's Pleasure…" Her body came back to life and turned around. Something was coming from underneath them.

"Look out!"


	12. Return

Return

No one could understand her for a minute then Allen pushed Chaoji away. Something came from the ground and took Allen and Teal down with it.

Teal found herself in a lot of pain and lying on the ground. Those weren't ordinary vines that dragged her and Allen. The vines were powered by Tyki's Power. Her body stung all over. As Teal sat up, she saw Tyki Mikk. He wasn't exactly conscious; he had light blue eyes and was staring blankly at her. The vines were circling around him. Allen was right next to her.

"Allen! Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yes…" He weakly answered. "The door…" A piece of the door was right by his hand. Teal saw it and feared the worst. She entered her dimensional scream mode when she saw the piece. She saw a white room with a piano and a shadowy figure with a white uniform standing in front of her. "Remember what you forgot. Find the piece from your memory." There was a melody coming from the piano. She faintly knew the melody.

'_And so the boy fell asleep…' _She sang to herself…

Teal blinked hard and she was staring at another piece to the door.

"My…memory?" she asked herself. "Allen, we can't exit by going through Road's door!" Allen looked up. "There's another room in this ark! We have to find it! It's our only hope of escape!" Allen couldn't hear Teal. The rubble was muffling her voice. And Allen's attention was focused on Tyki.

"This Noah's Power was supposed to be destroyed. What's going on?"

Allen activated his sword. Tyki didn't move, the vines had engulfed him and created a black armor that made him look like a knight. Teal moved forward but Allen stopped her with his sword.

"Teal stay back! I think he's gotten stronger and he could easily kidnap you!"

"Not gonna happen, Allen. I don't get caught that easily." Allen jumped attacked Tyki, while Teal stood still, waiting for his movements. Tyki vanished and appeared behind Allen.

'Perfect! Spell of Earth: Rock Carven' The ground came alive and started to engulf Tyki. 'Oh crap, I don't know if Tyki can still pass through anything.'

Tyki wasn't even near the rocks. He attacked Teal from behind and made her crash into Allen which sent both of them to separate pillars.

'He's defiantly stronger. As if he weren't human.' Teal thought.

"Teal, do you know what's happened to Tyki Mikk? I don't think he's human anymore."

"This is the Noah of Pleasure's true form." She gasped. Tyki threw her so hard that she hit her stomach and threw up some blood. Allen was almost knocked unconscious.

Lavi suddenly came down and shielded both Allen and Teal.

"Tyki Mikk, what kind of a joke of a uniform is that?" He sneered.

"Lavi…" He started. Allen blacked out.

"Hang in there."

"Lavi, we can't go through the door." Teal finished what Allen was trying to say. More shattered pieces of the door were on the ground. "Lavi, there maybe another way out. There's a room…" Teal was unable to finish her sentence because Tyki attacked them.

'Extend!' Lavi grabbed Teal and Allen who was on his shoulder and went up to the level where Lenalee and Chaoji were.

Teal used her healing powers to heal her friends a bit. "That's the best I can do for now. It should keep us going for a bit of time." Teal panted.

Before Lavi could extend his hammer to escape, Tyki Mikk rose and attacked the exorcists. Teal and Lavi were the only ones who could take the attack. Tyki aimed for Teal but Lavi pushed her out of the way and was knocked out.

"Lavi!" Teal shouted. She continued to hold Tyki Mikk off. Tyki attacked her with the vines but she still hung on. 'Spell of Fire: Fire dance' Teal's boots and blades turned into flames as she attacked Tyki. She burned him a bit and drew blood from his hand.

'That armor is really tough. Wait, his blood's black?'

Before Tyki could counter attack, Allen jumped from behind and attacked with his sword but was pushed back.

'Please, Innocence, grant me strength so I can protect my friends!' Teal begged her Innocence. She started to use her normal spells to attack Tyki but his armor deflected any spells that were cast.

He blasted the three exorcists away. Teal blacked out for a few moments. She could feel herself landing on a broken pillar and her feet were in the water. 'Tyki Mikk's vibrations… are near Lenalee's?' Teal opened her eyes. She saw Allen and Lavi on different pillars, both knocked out. Tyki was strangling Lenalee with his vines. Chaoji was charging at Tyki, hoping to distract him long enough to get Lenalee free.

'Innocence, please, help me get to Lenalee and Chaoji. We can do this.' Teal felt her Innocence was getting more power by her feelings. 'Spell of Fire: Flame Body' Teal burned herself and her body felt a bit better although it didn't recover all of her injuries.

There was another earthquake. 'Spell of Wind: Sonic Steps' Teal used the vibrations of the ground to get her up and to run to Lenalee and Chaoji. Chaoji was knocked down by the tremors but Lenalee was able to slightly break from Tyki's grip. Tyki grabbed her by the neck and threw her down with the falling ground.

"Lenalee!" Chaoji and Teal shouted. 'Please, let me make it in time.' Both Chaoji and Teal made it to Lenalee but a rock was falling right over them and Teal couldn't gather enough vibrations to take both Chaoji and Lenalee out of there in time. Tyki noticed that Teal was helping Lenalee and Chaoji and repelled any vibrations that she could use.

Before she or Lenalee knew it, Chaoji was holding up the large amount of stone. A strange presence was near them. The girls both recognized it as Innocence.

"If Innocence is reacting to Chaoji…" Lenalee started.

"Where is it coming from?" Teal looked around and there was no sign of any Innocence.

"Lenalee, maybe it's coming from outside." Chaoji was shouting the names of the crewman as he was trying to keep the rock up. Tyki was floating outside the only exit. Lenalee's vines were tightening every time she pulled against it.

"Hold still, Lenalee!" Teal commanded. She pulled out a switch blade from her pocket. She sliced through the vine around Lenalee's legs, then her left arm. Her right arm was tied with the vine around her neck.

"This one is going to be harder. Don't move." They both heard Chaoji struggling with the rock.

"Lenalee, Teal, what's happening to me?"

"You're reacting with Innocence somewhere around here. If you go on much longer, your body will strain too much and you will be destroyed. " Lenalee answered.

"What should I do? There's nowhere left to run." He grunted. Teal noticed that Tyki was gathering some power.

"Chaoji, hang on a bit longer until I get Lenalee loose." Teal continued cutting the vine around Lenalee's neck. It was in layers and was very tough to cut even with her knife.

Tyki began charging towards them. "Lenalee, use your arm to cut yourself free." Teal came out of the rock and charged at Tyki. Teal noticed that a hammer and a sword were right next to her. Allen and Lavi regained consciousness.

'Combination Attack: Heaven's Knight' Teal used both Allen and Lavi's weapon to create a ghostly knight made of Lavi and Teal's power and it was wielding Allen's sword. It attacked Tyki but it didn't do much damage because of Tyki's protective armor.

The rock that Chaoji was holding shattered and all that was left of the ark was the lake and rubble. Teal, Allen and Lavi's weapon's returned to them as they braced themselves to what Tyki would do next.

"You guys okay?" Allen and Lavi both nodded. "Lenalee and Chaoji are okay too."

Tyki used one spell that Teal used on him and counterattacked them. Once again, it sent them flying. However, it was a fire spell and only affected Allen and Lavi. Teal redirected it and prepared for a meteor attack.

'Spell of Heaven: Combination Attack: Fire and Darkness: Hell's Meteor!' Teal struck with her meteor attack and this time, was able to shatter a piece of Tyki's armor.

'That should keep him from reusing my usual spells.' Before Teal could do anything else, Tyki struck her down, used his vines to hold her and used his magic so she couldn't fight back. Tyki grabbed on to her neck and was injuring her even more. Just then, he was held back by Allen's Clown Belt. Tyki left Teal and moved toward Allen.

"I thought I was your opponent, didn't you want to kill me?"

"Allen…don't…" Teal said. The vines were still wrapped around her and she couldn't move. 'Let go!' Her body began to glow a mysterious silver color and the vines vanished as they were starting to get tighter. After they were gone, she fell onto her hands and knees. 'I've got to stay awake. My body hurts all over but that's not going to stop me.'

"Allen!" Lenalee shouted.

"I'm going to fight until the very end!" He shouted.

Something white was glowing under Allen. Before he could strike. It looked like a headless woman's body with a cross and angel wings. Then the symbol turned into a huge white cross that sent Tyki back. The ground collapsed and Allen fell in the hole.

Teal used all of her strength to get up and run to the hole to get Allen. She was about to activate her Innocence but she was stopped by someone.

"Save your strength." The figure said as he held her back. It was a skeleton with a big heavy coat. She knew that voice. It was him. The figure jumped into the hole on a chained coffin and grabbed Allen by the leg. They weren't very far in the hole.

"What's this, you filthy little brat?" He demanded. "I thought you looked alright for a moment but you were just as dirty as I found you. Stupid apprentice."

"It's been a long time." Allen smiled.

"What's that smile for?" The skeleton's head vanished and a man with long red hair, glasses and half a mask replaced its form. "You want me to drop you?"

'It's General Cross!' Teal leaned closer to look down the hole. 'And Timcanpy is there too!'

General Cross brought Allen up and dropped him on the ground.

"Allen, are you okay?" Teal went to Allen. Allen looked up at General Cross.

"Shishou…"

"It looks like you've got your Innocence in a decent form."

'Is this the same General Cross Allen was telling us about? He doesn't seem so bad.'

"But still, you're all beaten up. Here." Cross extended his hand to Allen.

"Ah, yes I'm so…" Cross grabbed Allen's collar and tossed him to the others.

'Or maybe not!' Teal glided to the others.

"You filthy idiot apprentice!" Lavi stood up but Cross shouted at him "You're filthy too; get the hell away from me. I'll let beautiful people near me but filthy people (except women) can stay the hell back!" Cross turned to Tyki who was waiting on a nearby pillar.

"The Clan of Noah…I was wondering what you were still doing in the ark when it was about to collapse. You've look like you've lost your mind, haven't you." Teal turned to Tyki.

'That is what happened to me… I have to talk to Cross when we get back. He may know some things about the Clan of Noah.'

"Consumed by the Noah, huh? You're staining the Clan's name, you know?" He was saying to Tyki as he was undoing the chains off of the coffin.

'Grave of Maria, release!' A beautiful woman emerged from the coffin. She had a huge dress and a butterfly mask that shielded her face entirely. The woman began to sing and a barrier surrounded the exorcists.

"What's this?" Lavi asked.

'Teal, I can't use my left arm very well, can you help me?' Teal resumed getting Lenalee loose from the vines.

'Hold very still.' She whispered.

"It's Magdala Curtain." Allen answered.

"You don't mind if the kids are gone do you?" Cross asked.

"Can't Tyki see us?" Teal asked silently.

"Magdala Curtain is a defensive technique that uses the power of Shishou's to affect the enemy's mind and obscure his vision with illusions."

"Is that doll an anti-akuma weapon?" Lenalee asked.

"That isn't a doll, it's a human corpse."

"Isn't that forbidden?" Lavi asked in alarm.

"Shishou uses magic to make that corpse, a woman with a parasitic Innocence his own weapon. Maria takes orders from Shishou alone."

One by one, Teal did her best to heal her friends. Most of their injuries were still there but they had enough strength to fight.

"And then…" Allen continued on, "There's an equipment type weapon that belongs to Shishou himself. 'Judgment'."

Judgment was a revolver whose bullets never miss and don't stop until they reach their target. As the exorcists watched Cross fire his gun at Tyki, Tyki was losing the rest of his armor and was almost near death.

Allen stared to summon his sword to help out Cross.

"Wait, don't get involved." Lavi said. "If you think about the difference in power, whether it's Noah or Cross, we are still weak. We've got a long way to go."

There was a final earthquake. Everyone knew time was up. "Shishou!" Allen shouted.

"Is it time? We won't make it unless if we hurry." He aimed his gun at Tyki for the final blow.

"Guys, hang on to me!" Teal activated her blades and boots and she chose to converge her blades into her boots so they would be easier to handle.

Just then, out of some falling rubble, the Earl showed up. And protected Tyki. He was carrying a sword exactly like Allen's but the color was reversed. The floor crumbled and Lavi and Chaoji fell this time. Lenalee was falling as well. Teal grabbed Lenalee and Allen was trying to reach Lavi's hammer but it shattered when he grasped it.

"Lavi! Chaoji!" Teal shouted. Allen screamed as he couldn't save them. The ground fell apart and Lenalee fell again. Allen saved her this time by his clown belt and Teal was hanging on to Allen so he wouldn't fall.

Allen and the girls stood up on the landing and the saw the Earl and Cross fighting. The Earl was saying something about 'The Fourteenth' and 'The Musician'.

'That name… really sounds familiar. The shadow I saw in my vision. He must be the Fourteenth! I've seen him before and I've been here as well. We've got to find that room!'

"In the end, this ark will be a grave, sucking up the blood of the exorcists."

This time, Allen was unable to control his temper. He launched himself from the pillar they were on and headed for the Earl.

"Allen! Don't!" Lenalee shouted. Blood was coming from Allen as he activate his Innocence.

"You're injured! Stop!" After Allen left, Teal used her boots and took Lenalee off the ground. They could do nothing to stop Allen.

"He's falling! Teal, we've got to do something!"

"Right! Hang on tight!" 'Spell of Wind: Sonic Steps' "There's plenty of vibrations around, so it's gonna be easy." In a blink of an eye, Teal dashed off. She dodged falling rocks and suddenly, she saw Cross and Grave of Maria. Cross saw Lenalee and Teal and signaled her to get to him. Teal heard Maria sing again. She saw Allen was using his sword to stop himself from falling.

"Master! Release me from Maria's power! The Earl!"

"You are climbing up here whether you want to or not! Don't fight the Earl with hatred."

Teal landed and she saw the Earl pass through one of Road's door and it quickly vanished after it shut.

"Allen, get up. I need you to go on a mission." Cross said.

"Mission, General?" Teal asked.

"Yes, you probably know why I came here."

"You came to destroy the akuma plant, right? Is it still here?" Lenalee asked.

"That room is still here. Take us there, Tim."

Timcanpy started to glow and they were taken to another room. There were bodies all over the place.

"What are these bodies doing here?" Allen asked in alarm.

"These were the guards of the plant."

"Allen! Behind you!" Teal shouted. There was a huge egg on two support arches. It was vanishing quickly.

"Look up. This is the last room in the ark. If this egg disappears, this ark will too, and us with it."

"What do we do Shishou?"

"We are going to stop the ark's download so the egg can't be transferred to the new ark. I'm not going to stop it, you are, Allen." Cross summoned a spell and Allen was teleported to another room. Teal and Lenalee stayed with Cross.

They waited for a few minutes and the room was starting to crumble. Cross held on to Lenalee and Teal used her weapon to stay in the air.

"Stupid Apprentice! There should be a piano in there! Play it! It is the ark's heart!" Cross shouted into his earring. There was a melody coming from a piano.

'Now I remember' Teal started to sing to herself.

_"So as the boy fell to sleep.  
The fire in the ash engulfs the air. One by one...  
what rise and grow large are my beloved profiles.  
What trickle down to earth are the thousands of dreams...dreams...  
On the night when the silver eyes were trembling what came to born was you, as you shined.  
No matter how many times the ever-passing time return the prayers back down to earth...  
I will never cease to pray.  
Oh please, show this child what love is.  
Please give a kiss to his hands you hold."_

"Make a wish, Allen! Make a wish as you play and it will come true! Stop the download of the ark!" Cross shouted as he was using a spell to prevent the egg from disappearing completely.

"Bring back our friends! Don't disappear, ark!" Allen shouted. Teal was focusing on the faces of all her friends that have fallen in the ark. 'Please, bring them back.' She shut her eyes and brought her hands close to her face.

"Allen, we're all coming in there. Open the door. If you wish for it, it will open." Cross said. In an instant, there was a door that appeared in the wall. Once it opened, Cross, Teal and Lenalee came through.

"The ark stopped breaking down. Allen, were you the one who played the piano?" Lenalee asked.

"Yeah." He glared at Cross.

"I know what you're going to say. Stop making that face, disciple." Cross sat down and lit a cigarette.

"The musical score, how did you…" Allen started.

"DINNERTIIIIME!" A loud voice boomed.

"La-Lavi, he's not a dog." Chaoji's voiced emerged as well.

"Just wait and see, if Allen's hungry, he'll come running! DIIINNNNERRTIIIMME!"

"Somebody's calling from somewhere in the ark." Cross said.

"It's Lavi and Chaoji!" Teal's face lit up. "Thank goodness they're alright. Hey, if they're alright…" She ran out the door. When she got out, there were even more white Mediterranean style buildings. 'Innocence, Activate' Teal flew up and followed Lavi's shouts in the ark. "Steak, Pasta, Mitarashi Dango!"

"Lavi! Chaoji!" Teal shouted as she landed. Both of them jumped as she landed on a roof behind them.

"Teal," Lavi wheezed, "what are you trying to do, give us heart attacks?" As he put his hand over his chest.

"Nah, I thought I might surprise you a bit just for fun." She giggled. "Actually, I came to see if…"

"I thought rabbits could jump higher than that." There was a cold voice behind them. It was Kanda, with Krory on his back. Kanda's shirt was burned off and there was a mysterious tattoo on his chest. "Next time, yell louder so he can break a record or a leg in the very least."

"Ah, I was right. I'm glad you two are okay." Teal smiled. "Welcome back."

"Yu! And Kuro-chan!"

"I found him on the way. What's going on?" Kanda looked around.

"You see…" Teal started.

"Oi, get your ass down here, Beansprout!" Lavi called out to the sky.

"It's Allen, stupid!" Allen's voice was coming from the sky. Lavi and Kanda looked up.

"They're in another room." Teal finished. "You know, you don't have to over react, Beansprout!" She shouted at the sky.

"Don't you start too! You have to stop hanging around them!"

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "C'mon guys, follow me!" Teal jumped off the roof and landed on the path. She couldn't get back up due to her ankle. 'Okay, not the smartest idea.'

"You need some help?" Lavi offered his hand. Teal accepted it and she was supporting herself on him.

"I'll tell you where to go."

"Eli…ade…"

"Ah! Kuro-Chan said something!" Lavi exclaimed.

-------------------------------------

"We'll take care of Krory," Lenalee said as she carried Krory to the sofa.

"Looks like he really pushed his body in that last battle. His Innocence transformed his body to grant him power. That's what saved him. If you want him to wake up anytime soon, he needs proper medical treatment." Cross said.

"I may not be a doctor, but I can heal him a bit." Teal pulled out a cauldron from her bag and some strange herbs.

"How can you fit something that big into your small bag?" Lenalee asked.

"I hexed my bag and a few of my other items."

"Oh, that's neat, did your Shishou teach you magic too? And can you transform objects?"

"My Shishou took me in and taught me martial arts after I quit being a yanki." Teal continued chopping up herbs and stirred the mixture in her cauldron. "I can't really transform anything. It always turns out wrong. Last time I tried to change myself into an animal, I was stuck with cat ears for 2 weeks!"

"I can imagine you in cat ears." Cross said behind them. There was a small 'plink' as Teal and Lenalee just stared at him.

"Don't even think about it you pervert!" Teal pointed her wooden spoon at Cross. "Even without my Noah side, I have another black side and you don't want me to go there!"

"You are cute when you're angry." Cross complimented. Teal froze and turned red. 'Ignore, ignore, ignore. He's a freakin' womanizer.'

"Uh… Thanks… I guess…" She tilted Krory's head as she had the potion ready. "I don't know if you can hear me, but this might taste a bit funny."

'Krory, I'm glad you're alright. Really. But, I'm sorry. I…I couldn't' She hear a 'slam' and the guys screaming. (Except for Kanda who just turned away) She looked at Cross and Lenalee and they were sitting by each other. Cross had his hand on her cheek. 'I turned my back for one second!' She was looking a little disturbed.

"That's a crime Shishou!" Allen shouted.

"No, Allen, you've got it all wrong." Lenalee tried to explain.

"What, apprentice? She's 16 years old, a fine woman now."

"General!" Lavi shouted.

"He was touching her cheek; the world is not going to end." Teal said flatly.

"Define 'end of the world'. In case you haven't noticed, when Shishou's with a woman, IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

"Oh yeah, your debt's increase. I guess in your case that would be the end of the world."

"Do you even know ANYTHING about girls and guys?!" Allen said.

"Yes, and I'm not at that stage yet. It's not the end of the world, Beansprout so get over it." Teal grinned.

"If you weren't a girl, I'd make you eat your words!"

"Maybe it's because I'm a girl, I called you that." She teased and put her hands behind her head. "You know I'm just kidding, right?"

--------------------------------------

Allen disconnected the ark's links to Edo and he was able to open a gate to the outside where everyone else was. After the reunion, the others boarded the ark and Allen opened up another gate at the Asia Branch to make contact with Head quarters. Before long everyone was back home. The whole Science Team was there to greet the exorcists. Lenalee ran up to greet her brother. There were medics right beside the Science Team. Then Lenalee nodded to Miranda to deactivate her Innocence. As she did, everyone collapsed.

'Finally, it's over. For them, at least. For me, it's just the beginning.'

-----------------------------------------

*bzzzt*"The egg was 80% lost, my lord."

"You think the 14th helped them? Lero!"

"Yes… It is possible. And what about the girl? Why hasn't she been successfully been brought back? Surely her friends rejected her after the Deceiver was revived for a last time."

"Uh…uh…I can't really explain. Lero!"

"My lord, what do you mean the Deceiver was 'revived for a final time'?"

"The original Deceiver's spirit was still in that girl. The girl only served as a host. I don't really understand why I didn't see it back then."

"Back then, Lero?"

"When Jasdevi came to join us. While I was searching through her mind for any trace of the Deceiver, I noticed that she and Jasdevi were friends. When I found Jasdevi, they were with her. When I told them about the Clan, they asked if she could come but she didn't have a Noah. If one member of a Clan is born, their Noah is born with them and their genes awaken when they're older. The Deceiver was not in her. Now, I suspect someone protected her so she wouldn't be found."

"I saw that she and the other exorcists defeated the Deceiver. Is she of any value to us? Do we just kill her like the other exorcists? Lero"

"She still is valuable to us. She is now the Noah of Memories."

"Yes, Earl."

*bzzzt*

*Shishou means 'master or teacher' mostly teachers in martial arts.

Yanki means 'gang member'


	13. Back to Square One

Back to Square One

Teal woke up in the hospital wing. Her body ached all over. She had bandages on her neck, cheek and right leg. The parts that hurt the most were her left wrist and her right ankle. 'Please tell me it's not what I think it is.' She brought her wrist over her head. Her wrist was soaked in blood and another cross was added. 'The Gods are against me.' She sighed.

"Oh, Teal, you're awake." Miranda said.

"Hello, Miranda, hello, Lenalee. You guys feel any better?" Teal sat up and brought her legs on the left edge of the bed. Lenalee and Miranda nodded.

"Don't you even think about getting up, Miss." A voice snapped. It was the main nurse of the ward. "Your healing powers may have sped up your recovery a bit but you are seriously injured."

"What?" Teal yawned.

"You are losing large amounts of blood from your wrist. And your ankle is broken."

"How broken are we talking?" Teal asked nervously.

"As in you need to get it amputated."

"What?! Great, now I'm going to have heart failure." She flopped back on her bed.

"You kids don't have any sense of humor. Your ankle is going to need a cast for the next few days. If your powers help, it will be about half that time. Now, we have to give you stitches on your wrist to stop the blood from flowing."

"No, that's not necessary. My wrist sometimes bleeds like this. Stitches won't help."

"Very well. Your powers are putting me out of business." The nurse smiled.

'Believe me, sometimes I don't want them whatsoever.'

"Your wrist bleeds often?" Miranda was shaking and looked like she was going to scream.

"Yeah. I don't really know what triggers it to bleed abnormally. The only time it bleeds is when there's another cross added. When I was younger, the doctors tried everything to make it stop. All it did was add on to the pain and not fixing anything. So I learned to deal with it."

There was a melody that could faintly be heard in the hospital wing. The nurse came to put a cast on Teal's ankle.

'I wonder where Allen learned to play that melody.'

After the cast was put on and it was dried, Teal took her crutches and headed toward the ark. Luckily for her, most of the Science team was working on other stuff and hardly anyone noticed her. The hardest part was climbing up the steps.

She walked through the gate and made her way to the Musician's Room. She tapped on the door. Allen was in a ball and his face was in his knees while he was sitting on a chair. Timcanpy noticed Teal and flew to her to greet her. Teal noticed that there was a long trail of food on the floor.

"Allen?" Allen looked up. "Teal, is something wrong?" She paused for a second.

"Umm… Where'd you learn to play that melody?" She opened her hand for Timcanpy to land on it.

"Those characters that make up the score… My foster father and I made them up together. I don't know how to play that melody but seeing those characters jogged my memory. Why did you ask me about that?"

"Just curious." She shrugged. "We should get back to the infirmary before the nurse notices we're gone."

All of the exorcists were at the cafeteria. Everyone was happy to eat whatever they liked without the hassle of waiting or cleaning up afterwards. There was a man who was slightly taller than Allen who approached the table everyone was sitting at. He had blonde hair that looked like it was cut around a bowl, two dots that were vertically in between his eyes and he had a burgundy uniform on. He was holding out a pie in front of Allen.

"Nice to meet you, Allen Walker, I am Inspector Howard Link. I will be monitoring you. I made some pumpkin pie. Help yourself."

'Inspecting him?!' Everyone thought. "Don't mind if I do. Bon Apetite!" Allen said as he was reaching for a piece.

"Hold on, Allen!" Lavi was holding him back. Lenalee got up and left.

"Link, why is Allen being monitored? Aren't you overreacting?" Teal asked. Link sat down. "It was the Order's decision. Have you ever heard of the 14th?"

"The 14th?" Allen asked.

"The Noah Clan that we know originally had 13 members. But a 14th was born and erased from the Noah Clan records."

"So what does this have to do with my supervision?" Allen asked. Link was grabbing something from underneath the table.

"First, you must answer all of these." Link put a huge stack of documents on the table. They were twice the height of Allen. "Hand all of them in after you wake up."

"Holy crap!" Lavi exclaimed.

"Oh, my god." Teal said slowly. "I think the Science Department has it easy."

"This has got to be done in one night?" Lavi leaned over to peek at Allen's document that Allen grabbed.

"Since it's too noisy here, I guess we'll move to the library." Link said.

"Eh?! In the library all night?!" Allen was terrified.

"The library isn't that bad Allen." Teal said as she was getting her crutches.

"Yeah! We'll read books beside you so you won't get lonely." Lavi stated.

"Please hesitate." Link gave a scornful glare.

"Actually Lavi, I'm going to look for General Cross."

"Where'd that boy under supervision go?" Jerry asked. Miranda wasn't really paying attention to the conversation and didn't know that Allen was being watched.  
"Supervision?" She asked.

"Our dog is being watched." Lavi made a gesture with his fingers to make dog ears.

Teal moved slowly with her crutches. 'It's not easy using these things. Good thing that I use my arms a lot. If I were General Cross, I would… Be drinking… I guess that would be a start.' Teal wandered around the entire main floor searching for him. She was about to give up when she heard someone complain about their wine. Turns out, he was by the library with another General that Teal hasn't met yet.

"You stupid idiots! I told you to get us White Romane Contie Bouquets!" Cross yelled.

"But… even with our money that is way too expensive." One of the guards said.  
"General Cross!" Teal called out, "May I speak with you?"

"Is she one of your students as well, Marion?" The other General asked. "I pity her if she was."

"No, I wasn't trained by anyone. General Cross just asked me to bring a package here and that's how I became an exorcist." Teal replied. The other general just gave a short chuckle. Cross moved up the stairs to where Teal was.

"What is it?"

"I have a few questions actually. About the Deceiver."

Cross sighed in grief. "If that's what you came here for, I'll talk with you later. I have to go to Central after I'm done here and I ask that you come along then I'll answer your questions." He went back to the couch where the other general was. It wasn't the answer she was hoping for but it will have to do.

*bzzzt* How did I end up in the Musician's room? *bzzzt*

Teal was lying down on the sofa in the Musicians room. She blinked hard and there was a tall figure standing next to her. His body was shadowed and his large coat was white.

Teal thought it was the Earl but she realized it was the shadow she saw in Allen's reflection. "You're… the 14th. Right?" The figure nodded.

"Allen said he should've been the only one to read the score. Was the Deceiver able to read the score too?"

"No. I haven't even met the Deceiver. She vanished thousands of years ago."

"Then, why can I read it?"

"Obviously, you've forgotten my words when I gave you some advice. Your memory is the key." Teal paused for a moment then she remembered something.

She straightened her posture and said, "I never left my house when I lived with my brother. When I was with Jasdevi, we never seen you before. I've never seen you when I was a yanki or when I was with Shishou. How could I have learned that song from you?" The figure looked down at her.

"If you knew the truth, it will cause you pain."

"I'm ready. I'm ready to face the truth. Nothing could hurt more than what I'm going through now."

"You are brave. I trust that you can choose the right path once you hear the truth."  
*bzzzt*

Teal sat up and rubbed her eyes. 'One answer down, a billion to go.' She thought to herself. When she got out of bed, she noticed that her ankle didn't hurt anymore and the cast was gone. She ran her finger over her ankle and she could tell her powers sped up her recovery. She laughed to herself. 'At least I don't have to wear that bulky thing anymore. I was finally getting the hang of the crutches. And I have to return them.' She got dressed into her gray t-shirt and her long dark pants. She carried the crutches under her arm, turned on her golem and headed on out.

On the way to the infirmary, Teal passed the Science Sector where almost all the Science Team was working. There was a sign that was blocking the entry. It said 'Chemistry Group Only'.

"Hey Teal!" Teal turned around.

"Oh, Allen, Lavi good morning! And good morning, Link." Teal said.

"I thought you broke your ankle really bad." Lavi commented. He noticed that Teal's foot was no longer in a cast and her ribbons on her legs were very visible.

"Yeah. My powers sped the healing process. My powers even dissolved the cast. I'm just going to the infirmary to return these."

"How long have you had these healing powers?" Link asked suspiciously. He had a notebook in his hand as if he were writing notes for a job interview. Teal felt uneasy.

"I don't know… I had them for a really long time."

"I see… And I notice that the only thing that your powers can't heal is the mark of Noah on your wrist. Is that correct?" Teal stared at her left wrist. Her wrist was slightly bleeding and now there were 4 and a half crosses on her wrist. She nodded. 'Somebody please change the subject.'

"Good morning over there!" It was Reever.

"Good morning Reever!" Allen returned his greeting. He looked up. "Hey, that's the plant's egg. You brought it from the ark?"

"You investigatin' it?" Lavi added.

"Yeah. We're trying to find out more about akuma. Like how they are modified and stuff like that."

"More importantly, how about you start fixing my hammer?" Lavi grabbed Reever's collar.

"Lavi!" Teal smacked him on the back of the head. "You know, you can show a bit more respect." She pouted.

"It's alright, Teal." He turned his head back to Lavi. "We have a lot of people collapsing from overwork and we'll get to it as soon as we can."

"Alright, see you later!" Teal continued walking to the infirmary. She turned around and called back, "I'll meet you guys at the Cafeteria."

'Great, another thing on my 'To Do List'. Don't get on the bad side of Central. They already suspect me as a traitor. I know about the laws of Central. If I'm tried for treason and I lose, I'll be thrown out of the Order for sure. Even worse, the Noahs could find me and the war is going to end. Hell with that! I'm going to do my best. I'll never betray the Order. Now that I control my Noah powers, I won't use them again.'

When Teal was outside the cafeteria, she saw that Allen had already ordered. Lavi was just in line with Bookman. Link was right beside Allen, carrying an armful of cakes. Allen was taking a cart full of meat.

"Walker, you are a growing young man and you need to eat your vegetables."

"Humph! I see that goes the same for you since you grabbed nothing but cakes." Teal couldn't help herself from laughing. She walked over to them. "I see that you two are lively this morning."

"Tell me about it…" Lavi groaned. "They've been at it as soon as you left for the infirmary."

"Well, what can you…" She dropped onto her knees and clutched her head. There was a voice in her head that said 'Lust…Lust…Noah's Lust…' At the same time she fell, Allen's eye activated.

"Allen?! Teal?! What's wrong?" Lavi shouted.

"Akuma! There's so many of them!"

"There's a Noah here! The Noah of Lust!"

"We're under attack!" Both of them shouted at the same time. They ran out of the cafeteria. With Lavi, Link and Bookman behind them.

"They are in the same room as Reever and the others! They're after the egg!" Allen said.

When they arrived there, there was a huge black wall blocking their way. Lavi picked up the sign and threw it against the wall.

"It didn't budge?!"

"Stand back Lavi!" Bookman said. Bookman, Allen and Teal all attacked the wall at the same time and there was no scratch. Link pressed his ear against the wall. "I can't hear anything." Teal then placed her hand on the wall and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing? You can't move the wall with one arm while all three of you couldn't even scratch it." Link said.

"Shut up, Two Dot." Lavi said. "It's at times like these when her ability comes in handy."

In Teal's vision, she was on the other side of the wall. The large number of level 3 akuma did not notice her. She saw that Science Members were beaten and lined up in rows, lying down. She saw the Noah by the egg, stroking it as if she lost a pet and it was just returned. The Noah was a tall woman with long dark hair and she was dressed in a Branch Head's White uniform. Teal heard a noise and there were three or five figures that came from the wall. They were skeletons with coats and one passed right threw her.

"We have all the researchers. We don't have much time so be quick about it." The female Noah ordered. Everything came back.

"We have to use the ark! The Science Team members are injured and these… skeleton like things ("Skulls" Link interrupted her. )are going to do something horrible to them!" Teal said frantically as she was heading to the Science Section with the ark gate.

"Teal wait!" Lavi grabbed her arm. "I don't think they're just after the egg! If they find you here, they'll try and take you back and you will be turned against us by the Earl."

"Lavi, I appreciate your concern. I'm an exorcist! There's no way I'm gonna let others die because of what I did or didn't do! I can't let that happen again!"  
"Again?" Link asked.

"Now's not the time! Let's go!" Teal said as she followed Allen and Timcanpy to the ark. When Allen opened another door and jumped through it, Teal saw that they arrived too late. Some of the Science team members were killed. And another skull was in the group. 'They're creating skulls?' Allen defeated the one that had his finger on Reever, who was standing up and was carrying a gun.

"I won't forgive a single one of you." Allen said. Bookman had just landed from the ark and activated his acupuncture Innocence as well.

"Our move." Teal said. Her shoes had been converted into her aura boots and she jumped high in the air.

'Spell of Heaven: Heaven's Meteor!' She came down with her meteor attack and destroyed several akuma around her. Allen used his 'Cross Grave' which eliminated several more. The bad news was that there was more akuma and it didn't seem like they destroyed any. The akuma countered attacked and fired back at them.

'Heaven Compass: North Crime!' "Get on, kid!" Bookman shouted at Allen. Teal was flying beside Allen as they were destroying akuma in their path. Once again, more came at them. This time, Teal used her spell to protect Allen from getting hit so he could power up his attacks.

Teal then heard the Noah's command to the akuma. 'Keep the exorcists busy until we recover the egg.' Teal looked down and she realized that more skulls have been created.

"Allen! We go to get to the skulls! They made more skulls out of the Scientists!" She dove down to the skull's direction. Akuma were blocking her but she and Allen cleared her way. She couldn't tell if Allen was behind her and she didn't have time to look back. She was focusing on getting to the researchers.

'I can't use my meteor attack now, I might hurt some of the researchers. However, earth is easier to manipulate.' Teal's direction changed again because just before she activated her attack, the Noah was trying to take the egg back in the black ark. There was a mouth, a gate under the egg.

'Oh, no you don't. Spell of Wind: Mystic Twister!' Teal got close enough to the Noah and knocked her way from the egg.

"Get away from Master's egg." The Noah snapped at Teal. Her arms changed to scythes and started to attack Teal. The scythes were growing and Teal barely dodged them. She blocked them with her blades and she tried to cut them enough to make them vanish. Teal spun around and kicked the Noah away a fair bit of distance away.

"Bookman!" Allen shouted. Teal turned her head and Allen was blown back by a giant akuma like the one she fought with Kanda in Edo. After he was blown back, Teal flew out to help him but another group of akuma forced her back as well. Teal was being held by on group of akuma while Allen was being held by another. They were both near each other. The Noah walked up to them.

"Don't kill the boy. He's the requirement for the player left behind by 14th. We'll bring him back with us. As for the girl," she walked over to Teal and yanked her left arm. "Make sure the girl is alive. Master says that she is the Deceiver and must be brought back no matter what."

"You can take us back over my dead body." Teal snarled. 'Spell of Fire: Flame Body' Teal's body was extremely hot to touch and the akuma that were holding her melted their hands off. Teal finished them off but was unable to get to Allen because the akuma already took him to the ark's mouth that was under the egg. Allen made one last struggle but the Noah struck him on the back of the neck and he lost consciousness and reverted back to his original form.

Teal attempted over and over to get to Allen but she was blocked by akuma. The akuma did grab hold of her a couple of times and they were about to hit her on the back of the neck so she would lose consciousness. Teal moved her whole body so she could protect her neck.

'Spell of Fire: Fire Wall!' A large pillar of fire burned her and all the akuma that were near her were destroyed.

"Kill the remaining exorcist and the other researchers." The Noah ordered as she vanished through the mouth of the black ark. Two akuma who were holding Allen were half way through the mouth as well.

"Allen, please wake up!" Teal shouted. After she destroyed a couple of akuma, she jumped to find Bookman. But still, no luck. More and more akuma were swarming around her. If only she could get something to hold the akuma back, even for a second, she would be able to help Allen or Bookman.

There were two bright lights that flashed one after another. She looked to where Allen was and they were in a rainbow colored barrier. The second one was where Bookman was. Reever and two other Science team members where shielding him.

"You think that we'd let you just take him?" Bak's voice shouted.

"Don't underestimate the Science Division!" Reever shouted back.

'Alright, it's my turn. Spell of Darkness: Midnight Illusion!' Teal created an illusion for the akuma so they would see more than one Allen, Reever and Teal herself. All the akuma attacked each one they saw. Some of them attacked and destroyed each other. Luckily, most of them were away from the Science team that was in rows.

"Reever! Get Bookman to safety! I'll get Allen!" When Teal moved, all of the illusions were moving as well to the Allen illusions. One akuma broke through the illusion and shot her in the arm, knocking her to the ground by the Science members that have fallen.

"Allen! Get up! Get up!" Johnny, one of the Science Team members, shouted. Allen responded to his calls and attacked the akuma that were holding him. Teal quickly got up and noticed that two more exorcists came to help. They were Marie and Miranda.

'Time Record, Activate!' "Target encircled. I'm going to draw out time." She said. 'Reverse!'

"Hey, perfect timing, you two!" Teal shouted. The egg was starting to reappear from the mouth of the ark and Allen was hanging on the top. Teal glided up to protect Allen.

"Feels pretty good, riding the ark." Another voice came near them. This time, the Generals have entered the battle.

On General who Teal hasn't met yet, went up to the giant akuma and attacked it. His Innocence was a double end saw blade that was spinning. He sliced the akuma's face and it was destroyed.

Allen and Teal headed to the area where Reever and Bookman were and they destroyed the akuma that were trying to break the barrier. Teal went through the barrier and grabbed Reever, Bookman and the other men.

'Spell of Wind: Sonic Steps' She used the vibrations and ran faster than the speed of sound to get the others to safety.

When Teal turned around, there were five more giant akuma that all of the level 3's turned into. Teal went near Allen, who was by the Generals.

"Well, look on the bright side, at least the battle might be a bit easier." Some Science members screamed because the giant akuma were right near them. There were thorns and vines that were surrounding all of the members on the ground. They rose up and created a very thick barrier.

"Looks like Tiedol is protecting the members so now we have to worry about those ugly guys." Cross retorted. "You two stay here." Cross commanded. Cross and the female General Teal saw with him yesterday went down by the barrier General Tiedol created. Cross pulled out his gun and the female general pulled out her whip and the monkey on her shoulder transformed into a great big monster that had energy balls on its fist. It was standing behind the general now.

"Go!" She commanded. The monkey charged at one giant akuma and used the energy on its fists to tear it down.

Several headless angel symbols appeared on another akuma and several bullets were maneuvering through the air and shot the akuma until it was down. There were some level threes left over and three of them charged at Cross but were defeated before they could come anywhere near them.

The pile of mutilated giant akuma were muttering 'Exorcists' before they were defeated by the other general. All of the other exorcists watched in amazement. Unfortunately, with the number of akuma that were defeated, they emitted their poisonous gas.

"C'mon, Teal, let's help the others." Allen said. They jumped down to where Reever and the other scientists were. The gas was very thick. Marie and Miranda and the generals were near them as well. Marie was trying to contact Komui on the outside. Allen and Teal were tending to the scientists and they were suffering from the effects of the gas.

"The gas is poisonous to our bodies. Very few are immune to it." Tiedol explain. Allen's eye suddenly reactivated.

"Reever, you and the others should get to higher ground to avoid the gas." Allen commanded.

"No… I'm fine." Reever coughed as his arm was over his mouth and nose. "Some of my guys that they altered were being taken to the gate inside. I've got to stop them."

The generals, Miranda and Marie moved closer to the egg. After a couple of minutes, Allen and Teal heard Miranda scream. They turned around and she was being engulfed by water. After she was engulfed, the water formed a body like form. Marie used his Innocence but it had no effect on it.

"The Noah of 'Form'. She can transform herself into anything." Cross said.

"Miranda!" Teal said. She stood up and was about to go to Miranda's aide. This time, Allen stopped her.

"Teal please do what I say. Stay here with the others. I'll help Miranda."

"Alright, be careful. But if you look like you need help, I'm going after you." Teal said. The water body was grasping on the top of the egg. The egg was sinking again. Teal was watching the generals trying to destroy the egg. The general with the saw blade was the first to strike. The Noah was able to fire it back.

"Destroy the egg, Lau Shimin!" The female general commanded. 'I guess that monkey's name is Lau Shimin.' Teal thought. Lau Shimin was also forced back and it was turned into a small monkey again. Even Cross's gun had no effect. Marie used his string Innocence again to hold the egg. The generals activated their Innocence once more.

"They're attacking the egg with full power! And the Noah is using her as a shield for the egg!" Teal cried. "What in the world are they thinking?" The Noah pulled Miranda out of her body and pinned her down against the egg.

"Unless if you know a teleportation spell to get her out of there, I don't think you can do much now." Reever said.

"Teleportation… Oh! That's right! There is something I can do." Teal said. "I used a switching spell in Edo to help Lenalee. As long as they don't go far, I can switch places with Miranda."

"Are you nuts?" Reever yelled. "She'll kill ya if the generals don't!" Teal gave a small laugh.

"That is where you're wrong, Reever." In a blink of an eye, Teal was gone and Miranda was in her place, unconscious. Teal felt and enormous pressure pushing on her chest.

'Too easy.' She smirked. 'Spell of Water: Flowing Body' Teal's body dissolved into water and she went through the egg. Her body returned to normal and she saw that Allen was inside the egg, already destroying it.

"Sorry Allen, but this was the only way Miranda could get out." She said. Allen nodded. "Did she see you?"

"Nope, I think the only one who saw me disappear was Reever and the other Science team members." They continued destroying the egg. There was no further damage they could do from the inside and Allen busted them out. The Noah was on top of the egg as it was crumbling.

"Stop that! Any further damage and it will be destroyed!" She shouted. Teal and Allen ignored her cries.

"Hold on to me." Allen said to Teal. She grabbed his right arm and she watched the Crown Clown's cape destroy the egg.

"Damn you! Allen Walker!" The Noah shouted as the egg made the final blow.

"Alright, my turn." Teal said. 'Spell of Wind: Sonic Steps' Teal used the vibrations of the egg being destroyed and she and Allen made it out of the black ark. When they made it to the surface, Allen glared at General Cross.

"You're despicable." He said.

"Hey, I just trusted you to make it through, Idiot Apprentice." The mouth of the black ark vanished.

"Hey," Marie said as she and Allen landed, "Teal if you're here, where's Miranda?"

"She's by Reever, the Science team and General Tiedol." Teal pointed to the direction where Tiedol's barrier stood. The gas had cleared up a bit and Reever and the others were taking care of her. Allen's eye suddenly reactivated. He was scanning the area of where an akuma was. There was a ghostly laughter that can be heard all over the Science Lab. Allen turned in the direction of the fallen giant akuma.

"Allen, what is it?" Teal asked.

"We missed one."

"Where?"

"I can't see its soul." Allen replied gravely. Ever since Allen's eye evolved, others can see souls as well.

"Wait, every time an akuma evolves, the soul keeps on losing its form right? When we saw the level 1's they looked like a person without the skin. When they were level 2's, they looked like mummies and lost most of its original form. Level 3's they were just an eye. And… Oh God. Please tell me it isn't what I think it is." Teal stared in the same direction as Allen in horror.


	14. Battle at the Order

Teal and Allen heard the shouts from the Science Team. "Run! Get away from this thing quickly!" They ran as fast as they could. Johnny was on the ground behind them. In front, there was a piece of that giant akuma that was covered in blood and all the Science Team members were on the ground as well.

'Head Directors… Reever… Everyone…' Teal was horror struck. Her lip was trembling but she did not cry. She couldn't. She took a closer look and realized that they were alive.

"Allen," one member pointed to the giant akuma. "It's… evolved… we couldn't…" The member had pentacles appear all over his body. His body turned black then crumbled into dust.

Something was forming from the akuma. There were arms and legs and then it turned into a massive white blob. Some laughter could still be heard and then there was a white hand, then a child like akuma that peered from behind the corpse. It had two halos above its head, angel wings and it was pure white. The only black part was the pentacle in its stomach. It rose in the air a bit and shouted "I'm level four!"

Allen was trembling. He sank to his knees and started throwing up.

"Allen!" Teal knelt beside him. "Are you alright?" Allen started crying a bit. 'I don't understand… What's going on?' Timcanpy was hovering over Allen.

"Teal…" he said hoarsely, "I fight for humans and akuma." He barfed again and was choking on his tears. "I fight for akuma because I want to save their souls before they are lost to the dark matter. Now, it's too late."

"Allen…" Teal turned her head to the akuma but it wasn't in the same place as last time. It was right in front of them.

"Are you crying?" It asked sweetly. A hand came up and touched Allen's claw. It was Johnny.

"Allen… Teal… I'm so sorry. Help me… help everyone…please…" Another hand was on top of Johnny's. It was the akuma.

"Everyone? Who's that?"

"Get away from them!" Teal snarled. She attacked the akuma to force it back. She could feel herself struggling harder than usual because the akuma had more power than she does. She could only force it back a short way.

"You ain't the boss of me. Unless if you become a Noah, I won't listen to you. And how come you're not crying?" Teal remained silent.

'Maybe it's because I don't have tears left to shed.' Allen charged at the akuma with his sword.

"I'll destroy you, level four." He shouted. Teal and Allen slashed it and it was sent flying. Bookman and Marie saw it.

"This is the noise of an akuma!" Marie said. The akuma looked all around him.  
"I almost forgot. I'm at the Black Order headquarters."

"Bookman! There are a lot of people injured! Help them!" Allen shouted.

"A weapon of slaughter… That's why I exist… I better get to work." Allen jumped on its shoulders and Teal jumped in the air, preparing for an attack.

"Like hell you will!" Allen shouted. 'Edge end!' Allen created a hole in the ground. Some rocks went in the air and it was time for Teal to make an attack.

'Secondary Spell: Spell of Ice: Arctic Blizzard' Teal's shoes turned to steel like ice, froze the rocks, shattered them then sent the remains to the akuma. When she landed on the ground, her shoes returned to normal.

"Did we get him?"

"I'll start with you." The akuma hovered behind them and flicked his fingers at Allen and it sent him flying and landed against the wall. Teal could see that he was knocked pretty hard because his mouth was bleeding and he couldn't breathe. His Innocence deactivated and he fell on the fifth balcony from the main floor.

"Allen!" Teal went after him but the akuma shot her. And she was knocked to the ground.

"I have orders not to kill you. If you give up, I'll make sure I'll kill your friends quickly so they won't feel a thing. And I won't hurt you."

"Forget it!" There were enough vibrations in the air for Teal to get to Allen. The akuma raised its leg as it was going to break her leg but when it stomped, Teal was gone. Teal was next to Allen and he was lying face down and got winded very badly. She got herself low as possible so the akuma wouldn't see her.

"Oh, this is 'hide and seek' now. I'll find you later. But for now, time to slaughter! Maybe that will make you come out of hiding."

The akuma opened its mouth and screamed. The scream was so loud that Teal thought her ears would shatter. She covered her ears best as she could but the scream was still heard.

"Tim, cover Allen's ears." Timcanpy obeyed her.

'What's the status of everyone else?' She shut her eyes and she could feel the vibrations of her comrades. Bookman was treating Bak, and everyone else couldn't stand up. Even the Generals couldn't fight back. General Cross was able to summon Maria so he could move his body. General Tiedol's barrier was fading. When the screaming stopped, Teal put her hands down and opened her eyes.

'Where'd he go?' There was a hand on her shoulder. It was fairly big and she thought it was the akuma. When she turned around, she protected herself but then realized it was Link. He put a finger to his mouth.

"Stay hidden until the time is right. The Generals are taking care of the akuma. If it moves away from them, you strike. Keep your eyes on the akuma at all times." Teal nodded and lay down on her stomach and watched the akuma. It was trying to attack Tiedol's barrier and the Generals put up a defense. It wasn't enough. The akuma created an earthquake that sent rocks flying everywhere.

There was a large pipe that was headed their way. Allen regained consciousness and looked up. Teal pushed his head down and covered her face in her arm as well. She created a barrier over them but it was too weak and the pipe broke through. Link shattered the pipe with a switch blade in his sleeve.

"Thanks Link." Teal said.

"I thought I told you to watch for the akuma." He said.

"Sorry about that." She looked down on the ground and there was a chasm created by the akuma that expanded from the black ark to the other end. The akuma was hovering in the chasm.

"Everyone from the Science Department…" Teal said.

"Miranda… Marie…Master!? They fell?! No…"

"This is ridiculous! The Generals couldn't have." Link was just as shocked as the exorcists.

"They're all alive. Their vibrations are faint but they are alive."

The akuma moved towards the black ark. The skulls were still in a barrier. The skulls asked the akuma if it could shatter the barrier but instead, it killed them.

"What?! They're on the same side. Why would…" Teal asked.

"The akuma only obey the Earl and the Clan of Noah. It is not uncommon for them to attack one another." Link answered. "Be ready, Teal. And you must not be seen by the akuma."

"If I go past the barrier, there would be more humans, right?" The akuma's voice could be heard from where they were. Allen sat up. "Stop this!" He shouted.

"Go now!"

'Silietica' Teal whispered. It was a spell that could be used to silence her movements. Nothing could hear her move as she wished. She flew threw the air and landed on the roof over the akuma. She crawled on the roof like a spider, following the akuma. She wasn't going to attack until it stopped moving. Even if it stopped for a second, it would be the moment to strike. If she attacked too early or too late, she might not be able to attack again. Teal wasn't able to catch up to the akuma and it got ahead of her.

They finally came into the room where Komui and other Science Team members were. Finders used their shields to protect Komui. Teal had to change tactics. Teal moved as fast as her arms and legs would let her. She stopped a couple of feet away from the akuma. When the akuma came into the spot where she wanted it to, she used her attack. 'Spell of Earth: Earth Wave!' She kicked the roof and rubble fell on the akuma and jump kicked it when she let go.

The akuma was under the rubble and used its arms like long scythes. It emerged from the rubble. 'Oh no, that didn't work! And it killed several finders!'

"Head Officer!" There were only a few finders protecting Komui. She turned around and the akuma got past her.

"Head Officer?" It asked. It killed the finders that were guarding him before Teal could move. "You're head would be the same as the other exorcists, right?" It placed its finger on Komui's neck as it was about to strike.  
Teal placed herself in front of the akuma.

"I'm the one you're looking for so how about you come after me? Komui, get out of here!" She bent her arms as she was about to strike. The akuma used its arm and threw her against the wall before she could even block. Komui just fell to the ground with his neck bleeding, unable to move.

"Heh Heh, you are too weak by yourself. You need more than your Innocence to beat me." Teal stood up and charged at the akuma and she was thrown back again. She wasn't going to give up easily. She charged at it once more and was able to slash the akuma successfully.

"Oh, so you wanna play, now? Very well, but I will hurt you this time." Teal kicked the akuma but it dodged it and she could only hit it a few times. But her attacks only gave it scratches and minor injuries.

'Damn, this akuma is too fast for me. I can't use full power and the others can't help. I have to hold on best I can.' The akuma slashed Teal's arm very badly and she fell to the ground by Komui. Her healing powers started to take effect but it couldn't heal her wound fast enough.

"I told you I would hurt you." The akuma said.

"Teal!" Komui was by Teal and he examined her arm. He saw the wound was worse than he thought. The akuma cut her side as well. He put his arm up defensively.

"You better move unless you want to be hurt too." The akuma warned.  
Just then, a figure dashed in front of them and slashed the akuma. The sword they used shattered.

"Komui, you bastard, you need to work on the weapon storehouse a bit more." It was Kanda. Kanda drew another sword he was carrying. The akuma was forced back and the finders all combined their barriers to trap it. Chaoji came to Komui to help him. He was between Komui and Teal.

"Supervisor, are you alright? Teal you're injured!"

"It's nothing." Teal said.

"And Teal, I'm sorry what I said before. About it was your fault that everyone died."

"Don't worry about it."  
Kanda turned his head to Teal.

"Are you gonna just sit there or are you going to help? That thing won't last much longer so we have to attack now!"

"Alright." Teal stood up and burned herself using her spell. 'This should keep me going for a while.'

"Komui, don't move." Kanda commanded.

"Kanda, you better let me do the major attacks. You don't have your Innocence." Teal said.

"I don't go down that easily." Kanda replied sharply.  
Kanda and Teal were about to charge when Komui received a transmission from Hevlaska.

"Komui, come to where I am. I will attract the Level 4. Take the Innocence inside me and get out of here. The ark is still connected to the Asia Head Quarters, get everyone there! If you stay here the damage will increase!" Teal and Kanda turned to Komui. He didn't want to do this.

"As long as there is Innocence, we can rebuild the main Head Quarters."  
The akuma was fighting the barrier. Kanda and Teal remained in their spots.

"Calling all departments! You are to follow my directions and get everyone to the third gate of the ark and evacuate to the Asia Branch Head Quarters. The status of the exorcists in the fifth lab is unknown. Our first priority is to protect the Innocence. We are evacuating Head Quarters!" Teal exchanged glances with Kanda. She was worried but Kanda didn't look very worried. Komui went to the elevator to go down to Hevlaska.

The akuma shattered the first couple layers of the barrier. Kanda and Teal went on the lift with Komui and Chaoji followed.

"You get on and you're all history!" Komui shouted.

"My Innocence is also with Hevlaska now. The barrier won't hold on much longer. If that thing gets loose, I'll take it on." Kanda said flatly.

"Don't be stupid! You'll be throwing your life away!" Komui shouted.

"Right, then do your best to stay out of my way and get the hell out of here." Kanda grinned. Komui's transmitter went off again.

"Hurry Komui, and also, Leverrier is bringing Lenalee to me." The exorcists heard this. Teal's eyes widened. Komui gritted his teeth and made the elevator descend.  
There was a shattering noise and there was a flash from above.

"It's here." Kanda said. He and Teal braced themselves. The akuma dove down. Teal could hear Lenalee's scream.

"Ni-san!" Before Teal or Kanda could move, the akuma used a powerful spell that destroyed the elevator controls. It was falling and everyone was knocked off of it. Teal skidded on the landing and was stopped by the wall. Lenalee and Lavi were far away from them. Hevlaska was near them as well.

'I'm gonna feel that in the morning…' She groaned. Her powers were somewhat keeping up with her injuries. All she had was a few scrapes on her arms and legs.

Kanda was shielding Komui and he was clutching his arm. A faint black pattern could be seen on his shoulder above his wound that covered his whole arm. His arm looked like it was torn. A strange glow covered his whole body and healed the wound.

"Supervisor, are you alright?" The two finders that were accompanying them asked Komui.

"Yes, are you two?"

"Actually, we…" Their bodies turned black. Teal knew that this was the final stage of the virus. Those who were hit with an akuma bullet would die within seconds as their bodies would be dissolved into dust.

"Komui! Yu! Teal! Are you guys alright?" Lavi was emerging from the smoke and he was carrying a flag pole. Komui looked up. "Lenalee!" Someone was holding Lenalee by the arm and she was about to get her Innocence by Hevlaska.

"Is our game of 'tag' finished, Supervisor?" An eerie voice said behind them. It was the akuma. Teal, Lavi and Kanda pointed their weapons at the akuma.

"You don't have to do this." Kanda said.

"Once again." Lavi replied. They all attacked the akuma but the akuma forced them back. The blast was so big that it even knocked Hevlaska down while she was holding Lenalee to implant her Innocence. Teal was not knocked down this time. Lavi and Kanda were knocked out.

'Don't think I haven't learned anything. I can survive this attack.' The akuma picked up Kanda. Teal glided to the akuma and slashed it. It blocked her attack but she wasn't going to give up easily.

'Spell of Darkness: Nightmare' Teal created waves of shadows that surrounded the akuma. It let go of Kanda and clung to its head as if it were in pain. Kanda fell to the ground. Teal jumped-kicked the akuma with her boots and was able to damage it a bit. The akuma grabbed her by her leg and threw her half way across the room. She landed not far from Lenalee. The akuma looked around.

"Still more people?" It moved toward Lenalee. Lenalee's Innocence was near her and she reached for it.

"Lenalee… the akuma…" Teal was grasping her arm. She was struggling to stand up and get to Lenalee. 'Please… Please… Make me stronger… I want… to protect… them…' The akuma stepped on Lenalee's head slightly as she was still reaching for the black block.

Teal's heart was beating in her ears. A surge of energy was pulsing through her body. She shut her eyes and focused on her friends. The energy was growing stronger. It was a weird feeling actually. Something surrounded her body. She couldn't see it, but she felt its presence. It was something she couldn't describe. Whatever it was, it was giving her strength when she was thinking of her friends. She felt like it was giving her more strength but she couldn't use it.

She charged at the akuma and made it get off of Lenalee. She was able to hold it off for a while.

"Oh, have I made you angry, Deceiver?" The akuma taunted. She pushed the akuma back and there was another force that pushed it far away. She turned around; Allen was standing over Lenalee. Timcanpy was flying by him. The silver mask that was usually around his neck was on his face. His eyes were blank and he had his sword ready. His clown belt was wrapped around his arms and legs. The akuma was hovering upside down.

"Oh, it's you. It's strange that you can move after I gave you a good beating." Allen signaled Teal to stay by Lenalee. He charged at the akuma but he was knocked to the ground. Teal knelt beside Lenalee and placed her hand on Lenalee's forehead. Her hand was glowing and Lenalee opened her eyes and some of her wounds were healed. She continued to reach for the Innocence. She finally grabbed it.

"I'm tired of grieving… already…" Lenalee said. There was a flash of light that filled up the entire area. Blood was flowing down her face.

"Lenalee…" Teal put her hand on Lenalee's shoulder. "This time, you don't have to. We're in this together." Lenalee rose to her knees and she held the block of Innocence close to her heart.

"Innocence, please take these feelings and transform them into strength to protect everyone. I will follow you until the day it all ends. Wherever you take me…" She prayed. Komui appeared in front of them. Lenalee opened her hands and the Innocence melted into a liquid. She looked up at her brother and smiled. "I'm off then, Ni-San." She drank the liquid. Teal took a step back.

Komui came to Lenalee and placed his hand on Lenalee's shoulder. Her eyes were black and she was shaking. Teal and Komui were hanging on to her arms and supporting her back. Lenalee's ankles suddenly spat out blood. The blood was flowing under the floor. She was breathing heavily.

"Lenalee, are you alright?" Teal asked. 'Her body must be rejecting it! No, wait.' Teal noticed that there was one cross on both of Lenalee's legs. Allen was still holding off the akuma with Kanda and Lavi. There was an explosion behind them.

"Allen, Kanda, Lavi!" Komui and Teal shouted. Teal turned her head to Lenalee. She was holding Lenalee's hand and Lenalee was squeezing it. Teal figured that Lenalee was in some pain.

"Hevlaska, take a look at Lenalee!" Leverrier shouted.

"Just a little longer, Lenalee. You can do this." Teal said in her ear.

"Lenalee…" Hevlaska put one of her tentacles over Lenalee. "Don't touch her legs…"

"The Innocence turned into a liquid itself. As to say 'drink me'" Lenalee said.

"The blood won't stop…" Komui noticed. There was a large pool of blood under them. Komui almost cried.

"What's this? She swallowed it but the Innocence isn't in her body." Hevlaska said.

"Then where is it?" Leverrier asked. He was now behind Lenalee and Komui.

"Her blood. It's gotta be her blood." Teal said. The pile of blood rose up and the blood formed legs with angel wings on top.

"Innocence, have you accepted my resolve?" Lenalee smiled. The Innocence was forming with her legs and they turned into crimson version of her boots. But they were slightly different in style. They had two rings on her ankles and a butterfly on each heel.

"Alright Lenalee, let's sent that thing back where it belongs." Teal said.  
The girls charged at the akuma that was about to finish Allen off. Lenalee jumped on its arm.

"How dare you do this to our home." She said.

'Spell of Earth: Earth Wave!' Teal sent sharp rocks at the akuma and it went in the air but it balanced itself out.

"Reinforcements, huh?" The akuma was about to unleash an attack then Lenalee grabbed Allen and Teal and dodged the attack. Lenalee was flying faster than she has ever done before.

"Wow, Lenalee, I didn't know you could go this fast." Teal said. She turned to Allen who was pale green.

"Uhh… too fast…" he covered his mouth. The akuma came from below them and kicked Lenalee's boots as if it was trying to destroy them. Teal and Lenalee kicked back and it was forced away.

"Lenalee… you can let me go. I can use my Clown Belt. And Lenalee, I'm sorry I couldn't protect everyone. I've failed."

"I'm sorry too. For showing up so late."

"Now it's time to finish him!" Teal finished. Lenalee was the first to attack. She kicked the akuma and sent it to Teal above her.

'Spell of Heaven: Heaven Meteor' Teal did a flip backwards and kicked the akuma on the head and sent it all the way to the ground. Allen pinned it with his sword before it could move. He got it in the akuma's stomach but it needed to go deeper to finish it. Teal and Lenalee moved up in the air. Teal used her meteor attack first. Allen's sword went in a fair bit.

'Lenalee's attack should do the trick. But still…'

'Spell of Water: Ice Casket!' Teal created ice from steam around the room and froze the akuma's arms, legs, wings.

"That should hold it down for a while." Seconds later, Lenalee came down and drove the sword through the akuma. It wasn't quite enough to defeat it. Just then, the wall the exorcists were by exploded. General Cross was standing there with Maria and Judgment. Teal returned her attention to helping Allen and Lenalee. The akuma was no longer moving.

Komui's transmitter went off.  
"Reever? Is that you?"

"Yes. I just regained consciousness. We are surrounded by rubble and flames. Everyone is alive."

"Ni-San, is that true, there are survivors?" Lenalee heard the transmission.

"Is everyone alright?" Teal asked. Komui smiled and went out the door to go to the fifth lab.

"I take that as a yes." Teal turned to Lenalee. "Better yet, the evacuation will be called off!" Teal put her hands together and smiled. She turned to Allen. He was supporting himself with his sword that was still in the akuma. He was severely injured. He started to cry and he bowed his head.

The akuma started to move again and struggled against the sword.  
"I hate Innocence! I hate it! I hate it!"

"No way! I thought it was destroyed!" Teal exclaimed. The akuma broke through the ice on one of its arms and forced Allen back. He went against the on the other side of the room wall and the akuma threw his sword at Allen and it pierced his chest.

"Allen!" Lenalee and Teal screamed. They flew to him and the sword was actually beside him. The akuma emerged from the smoke and was on the edge of the landing they were just on.

Cross jumped on Allen's sword. "It's about time you are destroyed." He jumped off the sword, went up to the akuma and shot him. The akuma was still standing.

"You think that's gonna stop me?"

"Did you just see one shot?" He asked slyly. Blood was flowing from the akuma's head. Then bullet holes appeared all over its body. His entire body swelled up. His arms and legs and the rest of the body were extremely bulky and was increasing by the second. It looked like it was going to burst any minute. Teal thought she was going to hurl.

"Where was I? Oh yes, the reason." General Cross continued. "Let's look at all the things you did to the Order and its members. I'm not that cruel of a man. But then you messed up my clothes." He smiled.

"He's an idiot." Teal whispered.

"You just figured that out?" Allen said. "I can't blame you if you didn't. He blinds all women from what he really is."

"No, I noticed it before." Teal crossed her arms. The akuma started to fly up. Hevlaska couldn't use the shutters fast enough to stop it. Allen used his Clown Belt to hold it back. The shutters were half way closed.

"I'll destroy you here and now!" Allen shouted. The akuma got caught in the shutters. Allen used his Clown belt to pull it down. Then he, Lenalee and Teal made the final attack and it was destroyed.

------------------------------  
A few days later…

"Oh, you came too, Tim?" General Cross and Inspector Leverrier were in the water way, about to leave for Central Office. Tim landed in Cross's hand. Komui and Reever were about to watch him leave.

"Be careful, General Cross." Komui warned.

"What are you, my mother?" Cross retorted.

"No, I'm just worried that you will disappear again."

"I'll make sure he won't, Komui." Teal came behind them with her backpack. She was wearing her black jacket with blue pants and her white shirt under her jacket.

"Sorry I can't help you pack up, Komui. I have to go with Cross." Teal gave a small bow.

"That's fine. General Cross told me about that. We'll get the rest of the things in your room."

"Thanks a lot, Komui!" Teal smiled. "I'll see you in the new Head quarters!" She hopped in the boat. Before Cross went in the boat, he placed Timcanpy in Komui's hand.

"Oh, Tim's not coming?" Teal asked.

"Nah, he says he doesn't want to come."

--------------------

The Head Quarters were on an isolated cliff near London. You could see the majority of the city behind you. The Head Quarters looked like a huge castle and Notre Dame Cathedral mix together. There was a forest that surrounded the building and the cliff that it sat on had an entrance under it.

'This place is awesome.' When they disembarked, Teal followed Cross to the main hall. There were about 9 other men there. They were all in a line. They wore long robes and masks. Teal suspected that they were Central agents and had a very uneasy feeling about them.

Teal and Cross entered a small room. There were two chairs and a small table between the chairs. One of the Central men brought a tea pot and two tea cups. Teal and Cross sat down and the man left.

"General Cross… Why did you give the Innocence to me? Did you know that I was a Noah?" Cross paused for a moment.

"In a way, I knew you were a Noah. I'm just going to cut to the chase. Before the Fourteenth died, he passed some abilities on to me. One of them is to detect other Noah. I noticed the Deceiver inside of you and I knew you were the host. She was faintly visible, but she was still there. An Innocence I was carrying reacted to you and I was debating whether or not you should join the Order. If the Deceiver took over, she could easily get the Innocence. On the other hand, you could've destroyed what was left of her."

"And then I still become a Noah and I now have Central deciding my fate." Teal was annoyed.

"I knew that you were going to be the new Noah of Memories and Central might be getting on your case, but this time, you have more control. As long as you have a strong heart, the Noah won't possess you. So this is a good situation at the moment." Teal drank her tea to help her relax.

"Did I have any connection to the Fourteenth? I know his song and I've seen him before." Cross sighed.

"I wouldn't say you have a connection to him. But I don't deny you met him before. He told me that he found the Deceiver's host. You were still a child when he found you. The Deceiver was looming over you and he feared that the Earl could find you and he would kill your family. So he erased your memory to conceal the Deceiver and placed you in the care of another family member." Teal spat her tea out and started coughing.

"Hold up, what did you say?"

"He erased your memory to conceal the Deceiver?"

"No, the other thing. I was placed in the care of another family member? What about my parents? Are they still alive?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that when he erased your memory, you remembered the song."

'I have parents… And maybe a brother or sister…'

"Now the Earl knows about you, you are in serious danger. You are not to leave the Order except on missions."

'Dammit. I hate being watched 24/7. What's worse is I can't go outside.'

"There's another thing you may want to know. All Noah are burdened with a curse. I do not know what the curse is or how to break it. But I do know it is powerful and it has a connection with Noah becoming monsters like that Noah in the ark and it could make Noah truly immortal."

"Okay, you lost me. What does the curse have to do with me being in danger?"

Cross paused for a few moments. "Well, since you are a Noah, I thought you might want to know. And if anything bad were to happen, that could be the result of the curse."

'Okay, he reeeally lost me. I don't know what the curse does, but if I am no longer connected to it, then I finally can be mortal. I have to find out more about the curse. And my parents may be still alive! I'm not sure how I feel about that. There's so much running through my mind, I don't even know where I'm supposed to start! I think if I want to break my curse, I shouldn't use my Noah powers again. Not even my visions. Then again, my visions are the only thing I can use to find my family.'


	15. Turn of the Table

Turn of the Table

A Few Days Later…

Teal was sitting in the library, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Allen and Lenalee. She had a new uniform that was given last night. It was a black and burgundy Chinese dress like uniform with a high collar and long sleeves. The skirt was half way to her knees and her boots were half the length as her previous ones.

Ever since she had her talk with Cross the other night, she was starting to eat less and less and was very pale ever since. And she took off her ribbon and couldn't bring herself to put it back on. She was so confused about everything and it was very hard trying to suppress her Noah powers.

The more she tried to restrain herself from using them, the more she wanted to use them to find any trace of her family. If she thought things couldn't get worse, she could feel her Innocence was acting up and possibly getting weaker. She found it harder to control when she was training.

'A curse that surrounds the Noah... If it breaks, will I finally be free? I keep on thinking about them. If it's connected to those demon forms, I don't want that to happen. But... It's pointless trying to revive forgotten feelings.' She collapsed on the couch while lost in her thoughts.

When Teal woke up, she saw Lenalee and Johnny on the other couch. Lenalee was in the same uniform Teal was but she had stockings with flat shoes. On her ankles were dark red rings. Lenalee's hair had grown slightly longer and her hair reached the bottom of her neck.

"Hi, Lenalee, Johnny." Teal rubbed her eyes and yawned. "When you guys get here?"

"We got here a few hours ago." Lenalee smiled.

"Anything interesting happen when I was gone?" Teal asked.

"Well, Ni-San said my Innocence was a new kind. It is called Crystal type. Apparently, the Innocence is dependant on the exorcists' blood for weapon structure. And he hypothesized that any exorcist with an equipment type Innocence can evolve to crystal type."

"That's pretty neat. And it gains power by your feelings, right?"

"I think so. If the other exorcist's Innocence evolve, we can get better results."

"Oh, is Allen here?" Teal just remembered.

"Yes. He was taken to see General Cross. I hope he gets back soon."

Teal couldn't fall back asleep. Lenalee and Johnny fell asleep on the other couch and she decided to take the time to do a little bit of research on curses.

'The Order must have something about the curse of the Noah. If not, hopefully Bookman will have something.'

She walked over to one of the ladders and moved it towards a balcony. 'What kind of books would the Order have about historical curses? Lenalee said they had almost every book that was written so there has to be something here.' She flipped through some book that wasn't even close to what she was looking for.

'Boring… Boring… This shouldn't even be here! Macbeth… Interesting but I don't think I can find anything about curses. Although it does have a curse on it. If I remember correctly, Shakespeare borrowed a spell from witches without permission and when they found out, they cursed his play from then on. Not to mention I remember some creepy stories about that.'

She kicked the side of the bookcase so she could move the ladder to another area. She found a few books that had curses but they were all fictional. 'Gah, every curse that I found is fictional! I would ask Bookman but I don't think he would have anything from the Clan of Noah. What am I even do-ing?' She slipped on the ladder and took a few books down with her.

When she sat up, a hand was in front of her to help her up. She looked up and there was Allen. His hair was as short as the first time she met him.

"You alright?" His right cheek was swollen. Teal nodded. Lenalee woke up after the commotion.

"Allen, what happened? Where's my brother?" She asked.

"He's still in there, talking." Teal put the last book back and went by her friends.

"Oh, this? My master hit me." He smiled.

"You okay?" Teal asked.

"Yeah."

One Week Later…

"We have evidence that Allen Walker is the host to the 14th's Memories." Inspector Leverrier was explaining to the exorcists. Teal was standing between Krory and Miranda. Chaoji and Lenalee were in front of her. She was happy to see that all her friends made a full recovery since the battle.

"However, he will remain an exorcist. You are forbidden to speak of this. We can't afford to lose another exorcist. So we'll keep him as the player."

"Is that true?" Chaoji asked.

"Allen is…" Krory was speechless.

"Ni-san… Is it true?"

"As commander of the Black Order… I will assign the exorcists to a standing order. If Allen Walker turns on the Order…"

"Please, kill me." Allen finished Komui's order. "But that won't be necessary. If the 14th attacks the Order, I will stop him myself."

'Wait... Does that mean... The curse will affect Allen?' Teal's eyes widened. 'General Cross... Did you know about this?'

"Further more, General Cross is missing."

Teal, Lavi and Miranda arrived in Greece. Akuma were swarming an area and were very close to getting an Innocence. The Innocence was somewhere in Athens. The first problem was: get rid of the akuma. There were dozens of akuma in the town square. Most of them looked the same and they were level threes. The rest were a mix of level two's and level one's.

Miranda first created a barrier surrounding the level 2's and some level 3's. 'Fire Seal!' Lavi burned all of the akuma inside the barrier but then more showed up. They got rid of all the level two's but the swarm of level 3's seemed to be endless.

'Spell of Wind: Elemental Storm' Teal destroyed a few akuma but more came seconds after the others were gone. She felt herself struggle to fight. It took Teal more than three tries to destroy the akuma. Teal noticed that one person was carrying a torch and was heading into an alley. She knew it was an akuma.

"I think one of them has the Innocence! I don't think he's running a marathon! I'll go after him!" Teal shouted. Lavi and Miranda couldn't hear her or see her. They were busy fending off akuma. She cornered the akuma in a dead end and it started to transform. Teal destroyed it and picked up the torch.

'Wait a minute… That was too easy…' The torch turned to ash when she held it in her hands.

'It's a fake?' When she looked down, something shot out from the ground. It was some kind of silver plasma. It grabbed her legs and when she was on the ground she was unable to move.

'Spell of Fire: Flame Body' It was enough to get the plasma off of her but it wasn't enough to defeat it.

"You stupid exorcist!" An akuma emerged from nowhere. It was a giant glob of goo that had a giant humanoid form. "You're supposed to stay still!"

"Like I'm going to listen to you?" 'I think I can take care of him.' Teal took a few slashes at it but it regenerated every time. The akuma fired a sludge bomb at Teal and she dodged it. It was nothing more than eroding grim on the wall.

'Dammit, where's his weak spot?' Something grabbed Teal's wrist. It's grasp was extremely hard and painful. A shackle had emerged from the glob and three more were created. Teal tried cutting the chain then her other hand was shackled. The chains pulled her towards the wall as the final set immobilized her legs and she was unable to move. Her weapon couldn't reach the shackles and she was powerless.

"Good girl. Now stay very still and enjoy your nap." The akuma had some sort of sedative in his hand. He was getting closer and Teal desperately squirmed and screamed for Lavi and Miranda.

"Teal! Hang on!" Lavi heard her cries and smiled with relief. She kept on screaming until he would arrive.

"So annoying. I've come too far to let this slip up." The akuma made another chain that collared Teal and silenced her. She was breathing heavily as she trembled of what was going to happen. She was totally paralyzed and Lavi was no where in sight. The mask that the akuma had was getting closer to her face and she could already smell the horrible sweet gas. She gave one last effort to avoid the mask but it was no use. The akuma placed his free hand on her head and placed the mask on her face.

"Every… One…"

'Welcome, little one. I expect great things from you.~'

Who…

'And so it has begun… My child, you will serve Master well.' That voice… It's her. You're dead! You have no say in what I do now!

Everything is dark and suffocating. It's cold yet pleasantly warm. Where am I? Am I dying?

'Teal…' A hand came out from the darkness and it started a path of light. It was that person, that boy. She moved her hand towards the light but still couldn't reach him. 'Don't be afraid. You'll find… *bzzt*

Wait! What am I going to find! Please come back Ja-

Teal woke up and she was reaching towards the ceiling. Everything was still blurry but she was somewhere supposedly safe. Her body ached and she was more than relieved to know that she wasn't in those awful shackles. She sat up and looked around on where she was.

The room was very dark with only a small window in the corner for a light source. There was dust almost everywhere, the walls were made of stone, and there was a huge spider web beside the bed she was on. There was also a worn out desk, a dressing area and a wardrobe.

"I'm defiantly not in Athens anymore." She muttered.

"Got that right! You're in the house of Noah!" A voice said. Somebody glomped her and she almost fell back on the bed.

"Road!" Teal was extremely startled. She was still regaining her sight but she could tell it was Road.

"Nice to see you again! The Earl said that he wants you to join us in a family dinner." She said sweetly.

"Oh, really?" Teal narrowed her eyes.

"And the Earl said it was not a request. And you can wear this!" An akuma maid tossed her a black dress. There was dark violet lace on the cuffs and around the fairly high neckline. She was given dark shoes to match.

"You may want to hurry. Here, I'll help you!" Road let go of Teal and hopped off the bed.

"No, it's alright." Teal picked up the dress and went behind the dressing area. Road headed out the room.

'Damn, how could I get caught so easily? My head is spinning… Okay, all I know is I have to get out of here ASAP. It will be like my yanki days, who knows? It might be easy. Then again, I'm out numbered and it's harder to control my Innocence. If they know that… I'm screwed.' She hung her head. 'I'll do my best. I don't plan giving up without a fight.'

She came out from the screen and followed the akuma maid downstairs. On the way there, she saw that there were tons of pictures on the walls. The halls were somewhat bright, they didn't have a lot of light but one could see where the next corridor is and what's in front of them. There were a few windows but all Teal could see was they looked over a garden.

"Come on, Miss!" The akuma snapped.

"Oi, Jasdero!" Devitto chucked a pie at Jasdero at the table. Jasdero returned his attack by throwing some fruit at him. Then Jasdero poured tea down Devitto's back.

He was jumping around. "Oh, so you wanna play dirty now, eh? Take that!" He threw a fork at Jasdero but when he blinked, there was a THWIG and the fork was in the table.

"You might want to be careful where you throw that thing." Teal said.

"Well, good morning, Princess! Did you have a good sleep?" Devitto laughed.

"Don't call me that." She growled. "You all look well since the ark." She changed the subject as she was going to her seat. Before she sat down, there was an angry clucking and feathers flying around. Jasdero and Devitto were laughing really hard.

"What's with the chicken?" She asked. The chicken leaped off the chair and headed somewhere.

"Hey, Teal, could you help me with my homework?" Road asked. Teal finally could see clearly. Road was dressed in a school uniform, a white shirt with a black skirt and jacket and a tie that was around her neck. Her hair was down and looked like it was a bit shorter than Lenalee's hair.

"Define 'help'. Do you want me to do it for you or do you not understand something?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Could you help me get it done? Or do you want to play dress up later? Your choice." Teal swallowed hard. It was bad enough that she was kidnapped so easily and now she had to play dress up? 'This couldn't get any worse.'

"Alright, I'll help you. What subjects do you have?" She sighed.

"Let's see…" Road put 3 text books on the table. "I have Math, Geography, and History."

"I'll help with your math. It's the only main subject I'm good at." Teal said.

"Hey! No fair! We wanted to do that!" Devitto and Jasdero said.

"Our guest gets first pick. You two can do my Geography. Don't screw it up like last time." Road pushed her book across the table.

"Now that is a sight to see. Family members helping other family members."

Another voice came from the darkness. There was a man with long dark hair and a handsome face. He was wearing a black tuxedo and a monocle. Teal thought it was Tyki because the voice sounded the same.

"Ah, and who are you?" The man stopped and looked at Teal. "I assume you're the exorcist. I am Sheryl Kamelot."

"Father!" Road smiled and she ran up to hug him.

"Yes. My name is Teal." Teal said.

"You don't have a last name?" The man asked as he sat down beside Jasdevi and across from Road. Teal shrugged.

"Hey, who gives you the idea that you can sit next to us?" Jasdevi shouted at him. They had their guns pointed at him. Teal was still writing in Road's math book.

"Now, now, boys. That isn't how we treat others. You should take a page from this young lady's book on how to control your anger. And as well how to dress appropriately."

"Heh, she's probably terrified so much that she won't even speak. Look, she's even pale and shivering." Devitto retorted.

"Can it. I'd be scared if I were you. You have no idea who you're dealing with." Teal handed the book back to Road.

"Oh yeah? You have no way to scare us. You're outnumbered, exorcist." Devitto grinned.

"Hee Hee! Give us your best shot. There's nothing you can do or say to scare us." Jasdero said.

"Vampire." Teal said sarcastically and pointed behind them. She created a shadow which caused Jasdevi to fall out of their seats.

"Dammit! Don't do that!" They shouted. Teal gave a short forced laugh. "If you were smart, you'd consider my warning."

"What makes you think that we should be scared of you?" Jasdero asked.

"Alright, alright. Enough. So… Uh… Teal, tell us more about yourself." Sheryl smiled.

"There's nothing worth mentioning." 'I've only met him for two minutes and I already don't like him.'

"Surely there's something worth mentioning."

"Nope. Unless if you include fighting pirates, robbing people, setting fires and fighting akuma as interesting, my life is pretty boring."

"Three of them are lies!" Jasdero said.

"Bingo."

"Ah, so the Princess knows how to use words. Not very impressive." Teal stood up and threw a knife at Devitto. He dodged it and it was sticking out of his chair.

"You mi…" He was cut off by Road's hard cover book that Teal threw at him.

"Ever heard of a distraction? If I were you, I wouldn't do anything to really piss me off." Teal and Devitto rose from their chairs like they were about to fight each other.

"Okay, enough with the love fest." Sheryl stepped in between them. "I don't know what has gotten into you. I meant for them to take a page out of your book on how to control their anger, not for you to take a page out of their books and lose your temper. I've never seen such behavior from a lady." He put his hand on his forehead.

"I'm not much of a lady, then." Teal glared at him. She settled down a little bit but she was still bitter.

"I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way. Both of you, apologize."

"How is that the hard way, old man? Hee!" Jasdero asked.

"Just do it." He ordered. Teal and Devitto glared at each other when they sat down then Teal turned her head away.

'What the hell is her problem?'

Just then, the Earl and Tyki entered the room. Tyki was wearing a black tuxedo and he had long hair that was tied back in a pony tail.

"Ah, little brother, I missed you so much!" Sheryl stood up and walked up to Tyki.

"I've been gone for 5 hours. It's not like I was dead and I just came back. So stop it and sit down, brother."

'I should've guessed. They're brothers.'

"Excuse our tardiness." The Earl said. "And we also have a guest." He pointed his hand at Teal. After the Earl sat down, the akuma servants brought some food. Teal didn't eat anything.

After a while, Road looked up at her. "You're not eating?"

"Not hungry." She kept her head down and did not look at the Earl. She was aware of what she had to do, but just being with the other Noah and the Earl made her terrified.

"It's not like we poisoned it. Why would we kill one of our own?" Road asked.

"I just don't have an appetite."

"If you're worried about your friends, don't be. They're fine. That is if they survived the akuma attack after you were separated. I'll let you see them again… If you provide us with information." The Earl said.

"Let me guess, it's about the heart?"

"Clever girl. You don't have to be so cold. We won't harm you."

"Don't get your hopes high. I know nothing about it. Nor do we have any leads." Teal kept a straight face as best as she could. She glared at the Earl and tried not to blink. She remembered her master saying that if you don't blink when someone studies your face to tell if you are lying or not, they will believe you. Teal had been telling the truth but if the Earl didn't believe her, she may never see her friends again.

"Very well, I trust that you are telling the truth." Teal gave a silent sigh of relief. "In the mean time, you will stay here until your Noah genes fully awaken. You will see your friends when you kill them."

"WHAT?" Teal stood up and slammed her hands on the table. Her blades activated in response to her anger. The akuma that were standing by took a step forward and transformed their arms into weapons. She looked at them, deactivated her Innocence and sat back down. "If you're trying to get me to awaken that woman through my anger, that won't work. She was destroyed in the ark."

"I'm aware of that. And I'd advise you to watch your step and your tongue.~" The Earl warned. "I'd really hate to lose another family member by my own hands again."

"Go ahead. I'm your enemy so why don't you kill me?" She blurted out. 'Why the hell did I say that? That woman is gone so I rather die free and that's all that matters. No... That's not true.'

"I see... You're rather rash.~ Like I said: I rather not kill any more family members by my own hands.~ And if I were you, I wouldn't want any of your comrades around.~ Better get used to living here, exorcist."

After dinner, two akuma escorted Teal back to the room. Teal examined the hallway carefully. If she studied it for a bit, she may have a way for her escape route.

'The Earl obviously doesn't know who I am. Like hell I'm gonna give up. If at first you don't succeed, try again.' The akuma opened the door and threw her in. Teal dusted her arms and knees off after she landed on the ground.

'First things first. I gotta find a way to tell the others not to come after me. Then I can plan my escape. I might as well get some sleep. Oh! There's my bag. I didn't see it there before.' Teal's backpack was sitting on the bed. Most of her items were in it. She had three sets of clothes, her armband for her part time job, a paper boy hat, a couple of masks, toiletry kit, a drawing book, pencils, a piece of parchment which was her 'fixed' map from some black market, her star shaped golem, a small bag that had money in it, a box, and matches.

'Great, my knife's gone. And I don't have my sword with me.' She sighed. 'Worst case is I make a new sword. Or hopefully there's a black smith in a nearby town. Katanas aren't that expensive.' Teal collapsed to her knees and almost threw up. She was covering her mouth.

'Uggh, it's getting worse… This is a really bad time for me to be sick. I have to get that thought out of my head…' Teal collapsed on her bed.

"What are you doing in here, Tyki? This is our room! Did you see the 'Do Not Enter' sign?" Jasdevi shouted.

"I am aware of the sign on the door. I'm just here to remind you of your mission."

"Okay, we admit we were once friends with her. But it's not our job to baby sit her!" Devitto snarled.

"Exactly. That is why the Earl chose you two to get close to her."

"Yeah and I think chucking books at other people is a sign that she likes us." Devitto said sarcastically.

"And she knows how to play dirty. There's no way we are going to get near her!" Jasdero said.

"Do what you have to. Besides, this is one mission that you can't screw up. It'll be easy."

"Then why don't you do it? If I'm not mistaken, you have more experience with girls and you would be able to win her over in no time." Tyki was already gone.

"DAMN IT! How is it he always leaves when we try to get out of these things?"

"I guess we really have to do it. Hee! Hey Devi, do you think she'll be easy to talk to?"

"The book is self explanatory." Devitto said as he climbed on his top bunk. "God. She's so friggin' annoying. It makes me want to kill her."

"Devi! You can't be thinking like that!"

"Oh sure, take her side."

"No, that's not what I meant! We'd fail the mission if that were to happen."

"Well no duh, genius. Lord Millennium said this isn't gonna be easy. As long as she remains an exorcist, we're gonna have a hell of a hard time restraining ourselves NOT to kill her."

It was around 4 am when Teal woke up. She got changed into her uniform and pulled out her map from her bag and she used magic to give her some light. She opened it up and whispered 'Ausistra'. That was the code the maker of the map gave her to open it. She had to say it in reverse to hide the contents.

'I remember this cost me a few month's salary plus an arm and a leg. That woman wasn't so much of a crazy person after all.'

The map's original content disappeared and there was a map of the mansion on it. On the map, the names of the Noah appeared and anyone else in the building, the akuma were on the map as well but it just said 'Akuma'. The map showed anything within a few miles from where Teal was.

She analyzed the map and all the Noah were in individual rooms. There were two akuma outside the door. They both had '2' beside their label. She traced her finger on possible escape routes. There was a town not very far from the mansion. The town had a train station and a ship yard. She analyzed the map and tried to figure out the best way to get to that town.

The mansion overlooked a sea and she could easily swim to the town. If the water was very deep, she could easily use her spells to breathe. There was a forest path but it looked very complicated to get through and she could easily get lost.

'I don't want to use my Innocence until I get closer to England. I don't know how much power I have so I have to save it to the end. Speaking of which, which country is this?'

Teal looked at the top of the map and she found out that the country name wasn't there. 'Crap… I forgot to ask for country names. Maybe the town might give me a clue?' She looked over at the town area and she sank her head. The letters that made it up were some Arabic or words that didn't make much sense.

'That's alright. As long as I get away from here, I'm happy. Here I go!' She whispered 'artsisua' and the map changed back to normal. Teal looked at the clock on the dresser. It was 5:30.

Teal walked up to the door and slipped a smoke bomb that was in her money pouch under the door and it detonated. She opened the door and ran down the hallway that led to the dining area. The smoke was cleared quickly by the akuma and they started going after her. She knew there was a door that led outside somewhere in the hallway.

"Come back here!" The akuma shouted. She didn't look back and kept running. She finally made it to the door that she saw earlier. She quickly unlocked it, went on the balcony and she jumped on to the roof. She looked around for a brief second and ran towards the trees. She could see there were mountains that touched the sea and there was a faint light that could be seen over the trees.

'It must be a light house.' As the fading moon faintly lit her path, she jumped across the roof top and landed on the path to the woods. When she jumped off the roof, she landed on all fours. She got back up, she fled into the woods. The akuma were not far behind her.

"Stop or we'll shoot, exorcist!" One akuma shouted.

"Are you stupid? We can't kill her!" The other akuma shouted.

"Too bad you idiots, you have to shoot me if you want to catch me." She called back.

"Do you have a death wish?" One of them shouted at her.

She kept on running as fast as her legs would let her. She heard trees snap and knew they were back on her trail. Teal looked up at the sky, hoping for some stars to still be out so she could navigate. On Teal's right, a path could be seen and without thinking, she ran towards it.

Teal tripped on a log and some vines wrapped themselves around her legs and her body. Teal grabbed a nearby rock and started stabbing the vines. They let go of their grip but when Teal was free, the akuma grabbed her arm and bent it behind her back. She groaned in pain. She struggled to get free but the akuma just held on to her tighter and cut her shoulder badly.

"Nice try, exorcist. I'm surprised you didn't use your Innocence. If you did, you'd probably be far away by now. Talk about brainless. Don't expect to escape from here." Teal gave a short hard laugh. "That's where you're wrong." The akuma led her back to the mansion. Teal still had the rock she used to free herself from the vines.

'Okay, so later, I'll just have to try a different way.' When they got back to the mansion, Teal was thrown into her room again. This time, she was thrown so hard that she hit the wall and was knocked out.

'Scary... The shadows will get me...'

*bzzzt*

'Someday... *bzzzt* We'll be... *bzzzt*'

'Red snow...'

Shadows...

"The shadows... are scary." Teal barely muttered.

"Geez are you still sleeping? Wake up!"

Teal blinked and Devitto and Jasdero were in her room. Devitto was shaking her on her bad shoulder. She slapped his hand and stood up.

"What are you two doing in here?" She stood up furiously.

"What are you doing making an escape attempt at 5 in the morning? Hee!"

"I failed. Big whoop. What are you two doing in here?"

"Um… Oh yeah, Stupid Tyki wants to see you. The Earl would but he's somewhere in the world."

"Fine. I'll go."

"Oh yeah, and if I were you, I wouldn't be wearing the uniform. Just for safety sake." Jasdero said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Teal asked suspiciously.

"Just for safety sake. For you at least. There might be one or two akuma that go berserk occasionally and you wouldn't want yourself to get killed, now would you, Princess?"

"Whatever. You two, get out." She opened her door and was waiting for them to leave.

"There's a changing area over there. You have privacy." Devitto sat on her bed.

"Hey what's this?" Jasdero picked up something on the floor. He unrolled it and it was a bra.

'Aw crap! How'd that get out of my bag?' She snatched it from him and literally kicked him out of the room. Then she threw Devitto out.

"Even without using her Innocence, that hurt!" Jasdero cried.

"It was your fault for getting us kicked out. Although, it was funny that she was stupid enough to keep one of those things on the floor."

"At least I'm not the pervert." Teal came out of her room and she was wearing her white tank top, black pants, and her black coat.

"So are you taking me to see Tyki or what?"

"What? No dress this time?" Devitto smirked.

"Shut it, you jerk." She hit him upside on his head.

Jasdevi lead her back to the garden where the other Noah were. Road was playing with a big white dog and Tyki and Sheryl were talking to each other then Sheryl looked up and started walking towards them.

"Hello, there, children."

"We're not kids! We're teenagers! Teen-age-ers! Got that?" Jasdevi shouted at Sheryl.

"And Road's a teenager too!" Sheryl step back and put his hand on his forehead. "No, don't say that! My beloved daughter is not a reckless teenager. I cannot bear to hear those words."

'Drama king…' Jasdevi and Teal thought at the same time.

"But enough chit chat. Come on, Taelia. My brother wishes to speak with you."

"One, it's _Teal. _Two, I'm over here." Sheryl looked back and realized he grabbed Devitto's arm.

"Let go, you pansy." He growled.

"Oh, my apologies. You two are so alike. You should be lovers."

"Eh?" Teal was blushing furiously at this suggestion.

"You lost it old man! I'm nothing like her!" Devitto was red as well. Jasdero was just staring at the both of them.

"You have got to be kidding! What the heck are you on?"

"Well, you're appearances are the same. So why not? I think it'll be a perfect match." Sheryl was pointing at their clothes. They were both wearing a dark jacket on a white shirt, and black pants. The only difference was their hair color.

"Brother, that's enough. I asked them to bring Teal here so I can talk to her. Not for you to pester them." Teal followed Tyki back to the table. There was an akuma servant that brought them tea. Teal refused and glared at Tyki.

"Well, let's get down to business. After your little escape attempt this morning, the Earl has asked me to tell you that until you don't escape anymore, you are to be escorted by an akuma at all times. And you are not to leave the mansion at all."

'Trying to keep me inside? Like hell that's going to happen.'

"Is that it?" Tyki nodded.

"How predictable. Just because the Earl has made up these stupid rules doesn't mean I'm going to follow them." Teal said.

"Did you know that stubbornness is a fatal flaw? If you're not to careful, you might wind up dead."

"Good. I was afraid it wasn't."

"You really need to watch it, exorcist. Care to tell us why you're so bitter?"

"Is it really that hard to figure out?" She asked monotonically. "You've taken me from my friends and I'm practically in a cage. Wouldn't that piss you off?"

"I understand about losing your friends must be hard on you but I doubt they were your friends to begin with. For instance, I doubt they didn't like the fact that you were hiding what you are. You don't belong with them."

"What the hell do you know?" She growled. "You're not them. Yeah, I hid stuff from them, that much you got right, but you have no right to say that I don't belong with them."

Jasdero and Devitto looked in Teal and Tyki's direction. They've never seen her this angry before. She had developed a totally different personality.

"Oh really? Then what about when you nearly killed them? They wouldn't be your friends because of that, I'm sure."

"I don't deny I nearly killed them because I let that stupid woman take over me but I've got plenty of guts for stickin' around and most people would be proud of that fact. Even if they weren't I sure as hell am and I'm not going to give up on everything I worked for just because somebody wants me to become their stupid pawn."

"Hmm... I see. The Order has told you many lies."

"This has got nothing to do with the Order. I don't put up with things that I don't like, and I absolutely hate other people choosing my life for me. Personally, I'd rather die free than die in a cage."

"If you were to adjust, you'd wouldn't be living in a cage."

'Where the heck were you?'

"Well little brother, you know the old saying: A wild horse will be broken at some point."

Teal rolled her eyes. She noticed that Devitto and Jasdero were sitting on the railing on the patio they were on. Teal briefly glanced at them then looked away.

That night, Teal checked her map. The guards were off somewhere else instead of guarding her door. All the Noahs were in their rooms. Teal's room was on the opposite end of the other rooms. She dumped some of her stuff on the bed and put it under the sheet to make it look like she was sleeping. She tied up her hair and put her hat on. Then she grabbed her jacket and quietly shut the door.

She looked around to make sure the coast was clear. There was a light on the floor in the hallway. Teal looked up to find the source. There was a window on the roof. Teal saw that there were small ledges. She backed up and jumped. One of her hands slipped. She heard footsteps approaching. She pulled herself on the ledge and pressed her back against the wall and moved toward the shadows.

She saw the guards come back at the door. "Geez… I don't think that contest was such a good idea." Teal was breathing heavily but silently. She couldn't be caught just yet. She accidentally put too much weight on one leg and made some rocks fall. Teal covered her mouth and nose with her hand.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like rocks falling. You don't think?" The akuma opened the door. At the same time, Teal opened the window and climbed up.

"Her bag is still there and she's sleeping. We have to stand here just in case."

"What if she sends another smoke bomb?"

"Then we'll stand over there."

"What if she tries to make a run for it when we're standing over there?"

"Then we'll stand back here." Teal slowly shut the window and slid down the roof. 'Okay, so I have to prepare for my next attempt tonight. I know a recipe for a sedative that should work on akuma. For once, I'm so thankful I was on the wrong side of the road.'

She jumped off the roof and lay flat on her stomach in case the akuma saw her. Her dark clothing blended well with the ground.

'Okay, here I go.' She started to crawl until she was close enough to the woods then she silently ran in the woods and leaned against a tree that hid her in the shadows.

Teal checked the map again. Everyone was still in the same spot they were in before. Except for the guards at her door. They kept on moving places.

She followed the map into a certain part of the woods. It was a fairly marshy area where it had a narrow path to the lake and it was a dead end because there were sharp rocks at the mouth. She felt really stupid because she added just about everything and where she was but she didn't add the country names. There should be some usual plants in this bush that she could use.

'Okay... Willow's breath. This will knock someone out for hours.' She grabbed a dark violet string of small leaves from a low branch above her. They stung when you touched them but they would only work if they were stripped with bare hands.

She kept her ears and eyes on constant alert. Every small sound she heard or if something moved, she lay on the ground and was completely motionless.

'Okay next: I need the nectar of a... crimson blue bell. It'll turn the leaves into a powder and the sedative is complete but it smells horrible. So I need one more plant to counter it.'

She was crawling around for almost an hour looking for the crimson blue bells. They grew in cold, damp places and they were twice as big as normal blue bells. And they were easy to spot since they were pure red, hence the name, crimson blue bells. She found one really big crimson blue bell under a rock.

When she stroked against the stem, golden sap came out of the tip and it instantly dissolved the leaves and converted them into white powder but it left a horrible stench. It was like rotten fish in a latex cover.

'My hands still hurt and I know this would help but it is really difficult to get out without the other ingredient and they will prob'ly get suspicious.'

The last ingredient is easy to get: water mixed with honey, resin from a violet ivy and a little bit of blood since they were akuma. The ivy was underwater and she had to walk to the shoreline of the lake. There was some ivy between some of the rocks that were sticking out in the shallow water. When she waded out a little bit, she could feel a little bit of a current.

She pulled out the ivy and it had a bittersweet smell. She ripped some leaves in half and the resin started to flow. It almost took the full plant to eliminate the smell of the sedative. She used the last leaves on her hands and it eliminated the stench on her hands and more importantly, the sting.

'Alright, let's find some honey.' Teal gave a small moan as her hands were starting to feel cool and the sting was going away.

'Dammit, how the hell am I supposed to find a bee hive in the middle of the night? I can't tell what kind of trees these ones are. Hold it!' She jerked her head to the right and the sunlight was starting to push through the cracks between the trees.

She pulled out her map and the akuma had figured out that she wasn't in that room. One of them was going through her items and another was searching her room.

'Crap!' Her jaw dropped. She quickly put the powder into a small vial and put a plug on it. 'They're going to start looking for me. Okay: I have an idea: Play dumb. Playing dead won't work so I have to switch to plan B: play dumb.'

She was able to find the beach that wasn't very far from where she made her exit. Some fish were jumping in the water as if to welcome the dawn. The crystal blue waves gently were rolling on the beach. She looked up and the sun was just touching the mountain peaks. There was a light mist on the surface of the water and the base of the mountain.

'So pretty.' Teal sighed. She picked up a shell that was carried on shore. Something flashed in front of her eyes. It was like a shadow of a child but its voice was inaudible. Then the child disappeared and more figure less shadows appeared and the water was turning red. Teal blinked and everything turned back to normal.

'What was that? I'm probably hallucinating from lack of sleep.' She shook her head.

'Well, I'd better go back before they send out-' She was about to turn when she was stopped by something that wasn't there before.

"Eh?" She cranked her head up and Jasdero and Devitto were standing right in front of her.

"Eh!" 'Okay... Play dumb just play dumb...' Teal told herself over and over as she backed away.

"Already breaking the rules? Sheesh, what are we going o do with you?" Devitto shook his head like a disapproving parent.

'Just say 'Rules? What rules?'

"Never been a big fan of rules, never will. What's it to you?" 'Nice knowing you idiot.'

"Uh... We're concerned about you, that's all." Jasdero faked a smile.

"Oh... I see. That's very considerate." Teal replied with a fake smile. "Although, I call shenanigans." She glared at them.

"What?" They said at the same time.

"Jeez, learn some slang once in a while! Okay then, read my lips: I'm not falling for your BS. I'm guessing that you guys are still pretty pissed and are just at the point where you want to kill me." She leaned against the slope.

"Don't get so cheeky, you brat!" Devitto pointed at her.

"Devi! Calm down! He doesn't really mean that." Jasdero turned his head to Teal. She wasn't buying it whatsoever.

"What are you two really doing here other than being a pain in the neck?"

"Us? Being a pain in the neck? You're the irritating one ever since you got here!" Devitto was still shouting at her and Jasdero has yet to join in the match.

"Well, excuse ME. Last time I checked I was kidnapped by force and I'm still in a bad mood. Just cross your fingers to pray I don't go black."

"That's what kidnapped means, stupid. You were taken by force."

"Another thing: don't patronize me. That'll make me go black faster."

"What do you mean by black, Teal?" Teal flinched and hesitated when Jasdero asked her. She wasn't expecting them to be calling her by her name.

"Long story short, if I snap, you should stay the hell away from me. You'd be surprise what I can do when I go black. Even if I don't, stay the hell away from me."

"Better get used to it, Princess, 'cause your not going anywhere and neither are we. So might as well be friends." He smirked.

"Keep dreaming." She replied bluntly.

"Jasdero, I-am-so-gonna-kill-her. She's-so-damn-annoying!" Devitto growled through his teeth while his hands were twitching. Teal flipped him off when they weren't looking at her but Devitto saw it out of the corner out of his eye and glared at her.

"What? My hand got stuck between the root and I cut my fingers. There's nothing to get so pissed about." She showed him her hand and she did have a large cut on her fingers.

Devitto and Jasdero flinched. They could tolerate blood but it was blood of an exorcist and they were fighting the urge to attack her. It was the Noah inside them. Whenever they pick up any kind of scent of an exorcist, they have an uncontrolable urge to kill.

"You two okay over there? You both look like... Hang on, what happened to you're arms?" Teal noticed that their left arms were injured and looked like their infected.

"It's none of your business." Jasdero said coldly.

Teal just shrugged and was more focused on getting some of her blood for her sedative and healing her fingers.

'The shadows... Scary...' After she healed her fingers, she held her head, praying for that voice to stop. Those words kept on echoing in her head.

"Dammit, I'm sorry."

"Hey! Where're you going?"


	16. Chains Continue to Form

No Safe Place

`Keep going. I have to keep going.' Teal kept on jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Her legs just kept on going forward and she didn't care where she was going. She jumped and landed on all fours but she fell down and started vomiting.

`What… Am I doing? Why am I running? There's nothing wrong. Except that I'm terrified. The thing is… What am I terrified of? The fact that I may not see my friends again? No. It's something else. Something I've never experienced before. I can't explain it. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.'

She stopped and leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She heard rapid footsteps coming towards her. `Idiots. They've sent the stupid akuma after me. It's a little foggy but I'm not making another run for it now. Although, it'll be fun giving them heck. With any luck they'll destroy themselves.'

When Teal looked down, her wrist and her hand were covered in blood.

`What? The scars are gone. It shouldn't…' Teal saw the tree that was across from her and it was covered in blood too and she didn't even touch it. The nearby trees and the ground were covered in blood and the fog was red. Then shadows and mouths were all over the place too. They were like the ghastly shadow that hovered over Tyki when he transformed in the ark.

She started to scream but quickly covered her mouth. The shadows were moving toward her and she felt cornered. She could hear a ghostly voice of herself crying `The shadows are scary and they will get me.'

`This is a dream! It has to be!' Teal covered her eyes and screamed "Stop!" When she lowered her hands, everything was back to normal. `What was that?' She was still spooked and figured it was just a hallucination. Or it could've been Jasdevi trying to get her to stop running.

"Ha ha guys, you had you're laugh. I find out you did this as a joke, I'm seriously going to shred you!" Teal shouted. Something grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and picked her up.

"Hey, put me down!" She started kicking wildly trying to hit the akuma. "Lord Jasdevi is back at the mansion. Don't blame them for what ever you encountered."

"Where the heck were you two minutes ago?" She threw an icy glare at the akuma. The akuma ignored her. `Wait, I'm over reacting. I think I saw this illusion before. I have to get out of here fast!' Before Teal knew it, she was tossed back in her room and she made a crash landing again.

`And the reason why he couldn't put me down was? Well, back to the drawing board.'

The only thing Teal can do when she is locked up is plan her escape route and prepare for it. The akuma that were assigned to guard her door were not very smart what so ever and Teal figured they'll fall for anything. Earlier, when the akuma had brought in some food, they gave her some honey along with it and she was able to finish the sedative.

'Okay... Now I need a disguise or something. They know what kind of clothes I wear and a little of my personality. So I normally wear boy's clothes so I want to wear... a dress or something." She gave a depressed sigh. 'Hopefully they have shorter dresses. Those are alright. A lot of girls don't act like me. As for my personality... I'm usually outgoing so I have to... I don't know what I'm supposed to do but I have to act more like a girl. I guess I'd have to cut back on fighting, stunts and my mouth. I'd better check if the kitchen's empty.'

Teal took the beaker with the sedative and put it in her pocket. She just needed something for them to eat. She checked the map and they were somewhere else in the mansion with other akuma in the basement. She tapped her finger twice at the guards and the map zoomed in and it said `Akuma Guard-2: Talking and Drinking, Akuma Guard-2 Drinking and Cursing'.

She tapped her finger on the edge to zoom out so she could see the entire mansion. She tapped the kitchen and no one was there. The hallway was vacant as well. She had the map close to her and followed it to the kitchen.

When she arrived, it was huge. There were about 5 stoves, a very large counter and a rack with many pots and pans. There was a sink with a mountain amount of dishes. `Wow, there are only a few people here and yet they leave this amount of dishes. What does an akuma like? Other than blood.' She saw some muffins on the counter. She grabbed them automatically. Then she took a straw and carefully placed some powder in the muffins. She was careful not to leave a mess.

She saw that someone was heading into the kitchen. It was one of the akuma. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have time to run and not be seen. She couldn't hang on to the roof because the ceiling was completely flat. She hid under the counter and held her breath. She saw the akuma's legs right by her. She thought she was going to be caught for sure and she couldn't hold her breath much longer.

After what seemed like an eternity, the akuma finally left. Teal made sure the akuma's footsteps were gone then she came out. When she stood up, she knocked one of the plates on the floor.

`Crap, someone would've heard that.' She bolted out of the door and followed her map back to her room. She heard footsteps coming near her at every turn and she always had to turn around. She heard footsteps on both sides of one corridor and she knew she was cornered. `If they ask me what I'm doing, just play dumb. Then again, I never manage to do it.'

She backed against the wall trying to figure out who was closer. When she touched the wall, she fell back and landed in darkness. She heard the footsteps go by in front of her. Whatever light that she saw was now blocked by a shadow. She could hear the voices of an akuma and Tyki.

"I don't care what you're excuse is, clean it up!" Tyki shouted. "Your job is simple: just listen to what we say."

"Yes, Lord Noah." She and Tyki moved away. Teal struck a match against the wall and checked her map. She was out of the boundaries of the house then it added a passageway. She was tempted to follow the passage out of curiosity but she knew that Tyki would be coming back any minute and she had to be back before the guards. She blew out the match and headed back to her room.

She got back just in time. The guards were coming in from the other direction. They were both in human forms. One was average height and he had blonde hair. He was very handsome. The other one was extremely short. He was about three feet tall. He had dark skin and he was bald.

"Oi, what are you doing out? You're supposed to be in your room." The blonde one said.

"Yeah about that." Teal said nervously.

"Don't even think about getting an extended curfew. You can't leave the mansion."

"I want to give you these as a peace offering. I won't escape anymore or at least give you a hard time." She smiled and held out the muffins.

"What the heck, we're starving." They both took them and ate it. Teal saw something shine in the short guy's pocket. It was a silver handle.

"You know the shipyard that you guys said you had a great time at? Is it like a party area or what?" Teal was hoping to use some psychology on the akuma to trick them to give her information. She read about psychology in some books and figured it was easy.

"What? We never went to a shipyard. Nor did we go to a party. What are you on, lady?" The short one grunted. `Okay, maybe it's not that easy. I think I skipped a few parts.'

"Are you sure? I could've sworn that you went to a shipyard."

"Look, the only thing that happens at that shipyard is that cargo comes in and out. The train station is where all the humans are."

"Idiot, don't tell her! Blondes don't have any brains." He kicked the other akuma in the shin.

"I wasn't listening." Teal said. The sedative would kick in any moment.

"Why is everything so blurry?" The blonde one asked. The short person was the first person to fall. Then the other one landed on top of him. Teal hauled both of them into closet nearby.

Before she shut the door, she checked what was in that guard's pocket out of curiosity. She pulled it out and it was her knife. It might be a little late but she grasped the knife and shut her eyes to see if she could get a vision. She was hoping to get a vision to see if her friends were alright after she disappeared or maybe if the guards went to the town; it could show her a vision of the town. Nothing came.

`Come to think of it, ever since I came here, I didn't have a single vision. Not even in my dreams. Except for those nightmares. Maybe something is preventing them from happening?' She gathered her things and she retraced her path the night before and escaped through the window.

"I think we're making some progress." Jasdero said. They were both in their room.

Jasdero was placing their chicken on the top bunk so it wouldn't escape.

"Unless you call a shouting match progress, we got nothing."

"If you weren't so mean to her, Devi, then she wouldn't have run away."

"Oh sure, blame everything on me. You've seen her. She is so freakin' annoying, behaves worse than us in my opinion. She thinks that she can say or do whatever she wants and not get away with it."

"Hee! She's changed a lot since last time we've seen her. I remember that she was always shy and rarely left our side. Now she's way more rebellious and... scary. But she is kinda cute."

"You think she's cute? How many screws are you missing? If you like her so much, do this mission by yourself!" Devitto put his feet on the wall.

"Heh, I doubt she'll listen to me by myself. However, she might listen to you by yourself. After all, you did spend more time with her when we were little. Maybe we should give her a little space for her to calm down then we can try to talk to her."

"Why do I have the feeling that's a horrible idea?" Jasdero threw his boot by accident and it started a throwing war.

They started attacking each other with almost anything they could get their hands on. Whether it was books, pillows, the random pink rabbit that occasionally appears, or boots, they threw it at each other. Then they heard a knock on their door.

"Go away, stupid Tyki!" They shouted. An akuma servant opened the door.

"Oh it's you, what do you want?"

"Forgive my intrusion, Lord Jasdevi. I was wondering if she was here. Then again, I may want to search in here too, this room seems like a good place she could hide in."

"Why are you looking for her?" Devitto asked. "And gross! Why would she be in here? She's not that desperate."

"I assumed she's starting to warm up to you so I thought she might come to see you."

"Hee! She's not here. Is she...?"

"Yes. She escaped. I don't know how she did it. And we found her guards in a closet knocked out." Devitto turned to his brother.

"This is what happens when we give her too much space to calm down. But ten bucks that she'll be caught within a few hours."

"Hee! You're on! I'll make sure they are male."

"I meant money, idiot!" He hit his brother on the backside of his head.

"And Master requests that you go after her." The maid bowed and stepped out of the doorway.

"Say WHAT?"

As Teal maneuvered through the woods, the ground was shaking every time she took a step. It's been like this a little while after she left. She could make a clean run to the station then work on disguising herself afterwards, but it was too risky. She had to find some place to hide and get some rest then she'd leave in the morning.

Teal tripped over some branches and landed in a bush full of thorns and fuzz balls. When she saw someone lighting the street lamps, she pulled her hood further so her face was completely covered by shadows.

There were some vendor stalls that were still open. When she was walking down the street, a woman shouted at her. She had white hair, a shawl, and a flower dress on.

"Oh, young man, would you like some new clothes?" `Ah, she speaks English.'

"Yeah, err. My dog shredded my clothes and I have to wear these. I would like some clothes please." 'Most pathetic lie ever.'

"Oh, so you don't want to buy clothes. So you want to make this old lady poor as ever."

"No. I mean, No! I didn't say that." Teal was waving her arms vigorously.

"Are you making fun of me? A deaf lady? Let me see your face so I can call your parents."

`Oh, she's deaf. ' Teal raised her hood so there was enough light for the woman to see her mouth.

"Yes. I need clothes. Please, you have to help me." She prayed that the woman would help her out. She thought it wasn't an akuma. Akuma weren't deaf.

"Oh, so you are a customer." The woman replied.

"Yes. I'm sorry I made you think I was a thug or whatever. I need some clothes. Do you have stockings, flat shoes, and a not-so-long dress?"

"Got `em all. Let's see how much you got." Teal pulled out her money. She had about $28.

"Will you accept this for now? I have a part time job as an odd-job worker and I can pay you the rest later. I'm afraid I can't give you anymore. I need to buy some other things and a train ticket."

"No, no, I don't charge very much. I see that you're a lost traveler. I will accept $15. And you said you work as an odd job worker? I need you to run an errand in the morning. You can stay here tonight and get to work in the morning."

"That's very kind of you, but I can't stay. Well, here." 'It's too close to the woods. They'll start looking around these houses first.' "I'm not exactly lost. I'm a... What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Toast? Criminal? POW? Hopeless romantic?"

"Let's go with the POW. And toast if I don't get going soon."

"Oh, alright then. I can hide you tonight. I won't tell a soul. Please, come with me. But I want to ask you if you can still do a job for me tomorrow? The clothes are absolutely no charge if you do it."

"Alright." Teal couldn't really argue with that. She doesn't seem to be an akuma. If she was she would've turned Teal in and behaved differently. She led Teal into her house. It was small but it was very clean. There were hand knitted rugs everywhere and pictures of cats on the walls. "If there's anything you need, anything at all, just ask, okay? I'll make us some tea."

Teal walked around the house a bit. The furniture was old and worn out. She lowered her hood a bit so part of her face could be seen. She saw a picture of a handsome young man in a soldier uniform. He wore some coat-of-arms on his hat and shoulders. 'He's so young. He reminds me of… him.'  
The woman came back with the tea.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Is there a phone I can use?"

"Yes, I have one here. Are you calling your parents?"

"Kind of. I've been away a while and haven't been able to call or write and they'll be glad to hear from me." The woman gave the phone to Teal and she left the room. She waited for the woman to be far away then she attached her golem to the phone.

"Hello?" Komui's tired voice answered.

"Komui? Is that you?"

"Teal? Are you alright? Where are you?" His voice was alert and Teal could hear a bunch of clatter and she guess he fell out of his chair. She could also faintly hear Lenalee's voice.

"Komui, did I hear you correctly?" She was very happy to hear her friend's voice again. But she had to break it to them that they can not look for her.

"Yes, I'm alright. I think." Teal said. "But I don't know which country I'm in."

"Okay then, that'll be easy. I'll just ask the control room where your golem transmission is coming from."

"Don't bother. It's disabled."

"What?" Komui shouted so loud that Teal had to move the phone away from her ear.

"Komui, I know what you're thinking and the Noah didn't disable it, I did. When I first came here, the Earl said that he set a trap for anyone who tries to find me. Well, he didn't say that word for word but that's what he meant. Bottom line is I don't want anyone to be killed because they were looking for me."

"Teal, as your commander, I order you to turn back your tracking device on. We need you back here in one piece."

"I know. Believe me, I really want to come ho- back." 'I can't call it home yet.' "Just don't go looking for me. If you send anyone to come and get me, it will be for nothing. There's too many akuma and Noah and I don't think anyone would be able to survive. I'll turn my tracking device back on when I'm closer to France or a nearby country, okay? Also, could you tell Lenalee and the others I'm sorry?"

"Alright. But let us know when you're in a safer country and we'll come and find you. It will be a long and very dangerous journey and you are going need help getting home as your Innocence may be wearing you out and you might not have enough strength."

"Okay. When you said that you'll find me, do you mean that you can open an ark gate?"

"What else? Just let us know when you are in a closer country and we'll open a gate for you. Also, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Like what?" 'Oh crap. He knows that I can't handle my Innocence.'

"Like how come it's taking you so long to escape? Is this your first attempt?" 'Thank goodness but still…'

"No, it's my second. It takes a lot of planning, Komui." She said quickly. `And my Innocence is losing its power even when I haven't used it much since the battle'

"Alright. Be careful and good luck."

"Thanks. You take care, too Komui." Teal hung the phone. `I'm going to need all the luck I can get'

The next morning Teal quickly changed into the clothes the woman gave her.

`Thank goodness no one else saw me last night. I'm not out of the woods yet.'

"Good morning. My, you are cute child. I don't see why you hid your face last night. So, today I need you to make a delivery to a store a few blocks down. I would do it myself but I need to go to the grave yard and pay respects to my husband. Here's the package."

Teal put the package in her bag and looked up at the woman. "What army did your husband serve for? Is it the Russian army? Forgive me, but I saw his picture last night."

"It's alright. He served for the army. He was hanged because he was wrongly convicted."

"I'm so sorry."

The woman sighed. "I'd wish that he could come back and live the life that was taken away from him. I'd give anything."

"I wouldn't say that. There is a way to revive your husband."

"Then what is it? Please tell me."

"I will tell you. But you mustn't do this. There is a man who can revive those who have passed away, at a price. The soul is trapped in this world forever and the one who called their loved ones back is slaughtered. Then they will continue to kill others."

The woman stared at Teal for a moment. "How can you be sure? Please don't say such horrible things."

"I don't mean to scare you but it's true. I know someone who did that. Very few get out alive."

"I'd give my life for my husband's resurrection any day." The woman had a serious look on her face.

"Please, swear to me that you won't do this."

"I can't promise that. I must tell it to everyone. If it works, everyone will be happy." Teal blocked the old woman's path.

"No, I can't allow you to do that. Don't you see? Every time a soul is called back, they are forced to kill others."

"But they will be able to relive what was taken from them." Teal quickly placed her hand on the woman's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this but I am only doing this so I can protect you."  
"What? Why is it so dark?"

`You will forget everything I told you just now.' Teal's power took effect and the woman collapsed. Shortly, she regained consciousness and Teal reached out her hand.

"You took a nasty fall. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Thanks again for your hospitality. Bye Bye!" `So much for not using my Noah powers again. Next time, I should keep my mouth shut. But then again, she had to know. She would've created an akuma out of her husband.'

As she was walking down the street the familiar scene of an average market made Teal feel like a little more at home since she was brought here. She enjoyed seeing many people mingling with their friends and family, seeing their happiness being with others brought her a little more comfort. She could see herself being with her friends and her beloved master. Her thoughts for them were strong, ignoring the fact that they were still very far away.

Often people take things for granted and things don't seem to be very exciting while doing everyday lives, but she loved every moment. Every new place she goes to is waiting to be explored. The excitement of broadening her horizon was an unexplainable happy feeling.

However, she can't let this feeling run wild. She was on the run and she now has to live by a rule she abandoned many years ago and never hoped to use again: Trust no one, only look out for yourself. Akuma were supposedly everywhere. Without Allen around, there was no telling who was a friend and who was a foe. She was with Allen most of her missions and she didn't have to worry about not trusting anyone. Now, she is alone and she doesn't have the same sense of security before she joined the Order.

Before, she could've been walking past any dangerous area or person but she didn't fight with anyone right off the bat unless they bothered her. It wasn't a big deal if she fought someone without much thought because the scenario was almost always 'It's done, now move on'.

Now one slip and everything will crash and burn. She often used rooftops and other high places as shortcuts if markets or streets were too crowded. Even doing that was not the norm and it could give her away. It would be an extreme risk doing anything that would make her stand out. That meant that she couldn't use her Innocence at all unless if absolutely necessary. She tied one ribbon in her hair and she used the other as an anklet that barely could be seen.

'Here's my stop.' A small silver doorbell rang above her as she walked in the door. The shop was a salon. It had makeup, skin care products, parasols, and other items that made the mixed sweet scent in the air.

`I bet rich people come here.'

"Can I help you with anything?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Uh. No. I'm good. I just dropped off the package and I was just browsing. Hang on..." She went by the hat section and she chose a smaller and simple looking fisherman's hat.

'That's cute and I think it's my size. It could be useful.' She was about to pay for the hat but the shop keeper said she could have it for free and he gave her some money as payment for her delivering the package.

'So far so good. No one has really noticed me. Oh?' She felt something brush against her side and she thought it was a pick pocket. She heard a soft murmur and turned her head.

There was a girl who didn't look much older than twelve beside her. She was fairly tall; her head was up to Teal's shoulder. She had long black hair, blue eyes and was wearing a black school uniform with red edges on her jacket. She wore a silver hair band to keep her long straight bangs out of her eyes.

'She's cute.' "Uh... Can I help you?" Teal bent to the girl's eye level.

"No. I just thought that you were..." Her voice was quiet and her eyes started to water.

"Ah! Whatever it was, I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" Teal shot up. 'Crud. Now I've gotten some attention.' The girl stopped trembling a bit and looked at Teal.

"Take off your hat." She demanded. 'Talk about mood swings. Can't really expect a lot from rich people.'

"Why?" Teal barely fingered the front brim of her hat, hoping to shade her face a little more.

"It's just that you…" She murmured the last part and Teal could've sworn she heard something like 'Mama'. "Just do it!"

"Hey, just a min…" Teal was about to give her 'opinion' which would have led to a shouting match so she lowered her tone and tried to act modest. "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm allergic to the sun."

"Humph! I'm wasting my time. Stupid commoner with stupid allergies." She stormed away. Teal didn't notice after she was going to an alley, she was slouching and depressed.

'This is why I'm not fond of rich people. They teach their kids to be stuck up and snobby.' Teal saw a sign that had many arrows and she was looking with the one for the train station. So far nothing was out of the ordinary. She blended in with the crowd. A few short hours if all went well, she would be on her journey back to the Order.

Then a banshee like scream filled the market and all heads were turning looking for the source. Teal was one of the first to react and headed to the alley. The little girl was on the ground, cowering in fear by two men. One was holding a sword which the tip was only inches from the girl's face. The other grabbed her arm and forced her up.

"Using ink to change your hair won't fool us. You're coming with us or the rest of this town will suffer if you resist."

"Let… me GO!" She cried as she hit the man on the arm but it had no effect at all. Teal went under an emergency staircase where the shadows were the darkest. She had no choice but to wait to tell if this was an akuma or not. Either way, this is a lose-lose situation.

If it was an akuma, she'd be exposed for sure because she would have to use her Innocence. On top of that, she needed her Innocence to get away from the akuma. If it wasn't, she can't risk making a big scene and she'd have to abandon the girl if she wanted to get out without being noticed.

"Listen, here, exorcist. If you don't want anyone in this town to suffer, then I suggest you come quietly. You better do it quick, because I'm getting a little excited and can't hold back anymore."

'Definitely akuma. There's gotta be something I can do without using my Innocence off the bat.'

"Try it and I'll blow you to pieces you stupid piece of junk." She heard a low irritated growl and recognized it as Devitto's voice. Teal held her breath and curled into a ball.

"Just tell us that you found her." Jasdero whined.

"We did, master Jasdevi." The akuma held the girl up by her arm a foot off the ground. She was terrified and kept on squirming.

"Hang on let us get a closer look, its dark here." Devitto said as they walked by Teal. Teal took off her shoes and moved to the other wall and chucked one at Jasdero.

"Ouch!" She got Jasdero's attention but he didn't see her against the wall until she threw the other one that hit Devitto's head.

"Hey! Hold it!" She jumped to the broken ladder and she barely missed getting pulled back down. When she ran up the first staircase, she noticed the akuma left the girl and started pursuing Teal as well. She was ¾ to the top and one railing was broken and she slipped and she was clinging on to the edge of the platform. She looked down and the landing area didn't look that bad. For some reason, she was getting butterflies in her stomach and her head kept on telling her that she should get up and continue running.

She suddenly knew why she was getting this feeling. Shadows were moving in a vicious manner, they had feasted on something that left a blood bath and they were hungry for more. They were climbing on each other and were coming towards Teal. As the blood covered creatures were drawing closer, they started to take form of that woman. She was still alive, just waiting for Teal to die so she could come back.

She shut her eyes and put her head on the platform. Her arms failed her; her body was too heavy to move. She felt footsteps coming toward her. The loud beats on the tin meant that they were close and she had to move now. She couldn't open her eyes.

An eerie presence was close and was about to do the final blow. She let her fingers slip because she would fall anyway. Then there was a sharp pain on her hands and just like magic, the shadows were gone. She looked up and Devitto was standing on her hands.

"You've got some serious guts pulling a stunt like that. We're not in a good mood now, so how about you listen to us for now, or we'll drop you." Teal thought that the shadows were still hiding her face and they didn't recognize her. She kept her head down and was trying to free her hands.

"How about for a start, you take off your hat." Jasdero said.

"That's… stupid." She tried to make herself sound as scared as possible and tried to free her hands.

"Why would it be? We just want to see your pretty face." Jasdero leaned forward and was about to grab her hat. She was able to free one hand and held on to it. If she tried slapping his hand away, he'd grab her and she would be captured for sure.

"Right. And if I refuse?" She looked up at them challengingly.

"Do you have to make it difficult, Teal?" Devitto said. "Like I said, we're not in a very good mood right now, so be a good girl and give up."

"The cat's out of the bag." Teal said coldly. "And there's no way in hell I'll give up like that." She freed her hand from Devitto's grasp and started to fall. She looked to the spot were the little girl was and she was still watching in horror.

'I've gotta get her out of here.' She noticed an akuma was underneath her and it transformed into a giant spider. It made a net and it looked like it was going to either catch her or throw it at her.

'Innocence, Activate!' Her ribbons unwrapped themselves and the butterfly bows on her ankles stopped her from falling. Once she was upright, she started to move back and forth between the walls until she reached the girl. The echoes that were created allowed her Innocence to gain power to move faster but it would wear off quickly.

As she kicked off the ground with the girl, the other akuma transformed into another level two and it was a giant jack in the box that was hopping along the street. Teal looked at the girl and she had her eyes shut tight and was hanging on to Teal's arm for dear life. The jack in the box hopped onto the rooftop that was behind Teal and she caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye.

'Oh great. Can't wait to see what that one does.' She glared at the akuma. Speed was on her side for a while.

The jack in the box retreated into its box and started to play a melody then it screeched like a dying moose. The little girl covered her ears but as soon as the akuma screamed it stopped suddenly. Before Teal could look back to see if it did any damage, she was flung back before she could move to the next building and was headed straight to the spider akuma but she used her Innocence to move away from it.

"Sorry, exorcist, you're trapped now. You need a lot of speed if you want to break my net." The spider akuma grinned at her.

"But you need sound waves to gain speed but I blocked them. We're in a sound proof barrier." The jack in the box bended forward and flicked his tongue at her.

"I don't know if you remember this when you were humans but there's an old saying: if there's a wall, find another way around it if you can't go through." Teal suddenly jumped up, and let her Innocence take her as high as she could go then came down on the building and made a small crater. She created more waves to gain more speed and height.

"Look out! There's some thing there!" The little girl cried. Teal looked up and something was thin and shiny. It came straight at her and before she could see where it was going, it felt like a hornet stung her arm because it was moving so fast then she couldn't move it.

"Should've listened to the human, exorcist." The spider was crawling beside her as she was dangling by her right arm. 'Okay, change of plans: Get rid of the akuma'

"I might let you off easy if you hand the human over for a snack for me."

"Like hell I will." 'Spell of Fire, standby' Her blade's edges started to glow red as she swung back and forth until she was almost near the spider.

"Hang on to my neck as tight as you can." She whispered to the girl. She didn't hesitate to obey.

"Bad move exorcist, I have a web ready to catch you."

"That's fine. I have a question for you: How much do insects like fire?" The spider's grin quickly vanished.

"What?"

'Spell of Fire: Fire Wall' The moment she used her foot to contact the spider, the spider let go of the web and Teal used her other arm to sever the thread that was clinging to her arm and ended up diving. The loud whistle of the wind that was rushing past her ears was a sign that she created enough waves to escape the barrier. Instead, she directed all the energy she had gathered and used it to create her most powerful attack to direct it at the akuma who were on top of each other.

'Spells of Water, Wind, Earth and Fire combine: Spell of Heaven: Heaven Meteor!' A blinding light developed at her feet and started to engulf her. Once she was engulfed, an area opened up by her feet so she could see her targets. She dove at them and crushed the two akuma under her weight and speed.

A faint light flashed above them and was lowering meaning the barrier had been broken.

'I have to get her to safety. I'll deal with the other two later.' When she took her first step, everything was moving around like it was an earthquake and nearly lost her balance.

"Are you alright? You feel warm."

"Yeah." Teal gave a reassuring smile. 'Shoot. My fever's back. I'm not going to be able to leave this town today.'

She jumped off the building and landed in an alley that led to a more populated area of the town and back to the area they were just in. The populated area was a long run but nobody could see them in the shadows.

"Can you get back from here?" Teal got the girl to lean flat against the wall behind a garbage can while Teal's silhouette could be seen clearly. She nodded.

"Good." Rapid footsteps were echoing in the alley. Teal quickly pulled out her map and Jasdero and Devitto were alone and no akuma in the area ahead or by the Noah.

"Hide here until I am gone." She placed her hand on the girl's forehead and was prepared to erase the memory of the akuma and Jasdevi. 'We are only running from a thief. I'll fend him off. You're safe now.' Teal thought as if it would change how the girl the situation.'

"Please don't let the thief hurt you or anyone else." The girl whimpered.

"Uh… Right." 'I changed the memory! I had no idea this was included!' She was about to run when the little girl stopped her.

"Wait! Please. Take this, it'll will bring you luck." The girl tossed a small charm at Teal and she caught it.

"But-"

"Oh, you destroyed the akuma. We'd expect you to go farther." Jasdero said.

"Ah great, we've gotta do the work ourselves." Devitto moaned. Teal had her back to them and dashed down the street. The earthquake was getting more violent. She could only rely on the sound of her footsteps and the echoes that filled the deserted ruins. The louder they were, that meant she was close to a wall.

She ran into a wall and scrapped her bad arm and part of the wound she received on her last escape attempt came back. Mist was starting to swallow the abandoned alley and the footsteps were closing in on her. She used her other arm to force herself to stand up and keep running. It was hardly worth the effort; she collapse due to lack of energy and she dropped the charm the girl gave her.

'That's what I get for hardly eating. I have to bring back that charm.' She extended her hand and two of her fingers curled around the chain.

Suddenly a shearing pain took over her head. The unknown voices of her dreams and the shadows of her nightmares came to life. The voices were the bait, luring her to all the answers she seeks. The moment she thinks about them, the shadows and blood dominate the scene. She buried her face in her hands and screamed hysterically.

'Become my…' A skull with that woman's voice was coming toward her and the reeking smell of death was with it. She converted to fetal position for any hope that it would make things better. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst.

"Huh, that was shorter than expected. The least you could've done was made this a little more exciting." Teal's arm suddenly shot up and she grabbed on to one of the twin's legs. She was trembling but she kept a firm grip. The last thing that she remembered clearly was a voice saying: "I hate you!" and "I need you."

'Mnn…' Teal sat up and she was back in the room where she was kept. It was just as gloomy as it was when she left. The giant spider web was still at the foot of the bed, and its owner was in sight for the first time. It was a tarantula. She leaned forward to get a closer look. It was white and she could faintly see the pink eyes on its face.

"Nice to see something more… cheerful." She said quietly. "Looks like we're room mates." She barely fingered the smooth back of the spider and it slightly twitched.

"Oh… Didn't know you were asleep." The door swung open and Teal turned her head. The tarantula quickly crawled off its web and down her bed post.

"You're awake, Miss. Welcome back." It was an akuma maid with a food tray. This one was different from the others. She was short and looked fairly young.

"You know the least you can do is say something. This is why I hate dealing with exorcists, they just have no manners." She pouted.

"I have manners. I'm just too pissed off to show any." Teal mumbled.

"Why would you be angry? Would you care to talk about it?" The akuma set the tray on the dresser and stood beside Teal.

"An akuma acting like it cares. What are they gonna come up with next?"

"Well… Believe it or not, I've evolved just recently, and I have a very caring personality. So if you need or want something or want to talk, don't hesitate to ask."

"Can I leave now?"

"No! I've been given orders that you are to stay in here until you are fully recovered. You're fever could come back into something worse."

'Great. Just great.' Teal sighed.

2 Nights Later

'Nobody's in the library so I think I'll go there for a while. Whats-her-face probably still thinks I'm asleep.' Teal took out her clothes from her backpack and stuffed them under the sheet. The only things she brought were her sketch book and a pencil, her map and a lantern.

'Wow, this library would give the Order's a run for their money. Hopefully this one has something that'll give me a lead.' She blew out the lantern because there was plenty of light in the room and set it on a table by a large window before she climbed on to the window ledge to get a better look.

She could see the tip of the balcony that's not too far from her room and the lake that touches the starting point of the mountain range. The clouds that barely hide the crescent moon and the stars reflected so beautifully on the calm waters, they seemed like little dancing fairies from the distance.

'I wish I had wings in reality. I could only imagine what's beyond the horizon.' She gazed in the distance and was making a light sketch of what she was imagining.

"Out a little late, aren't we?" Devitto came out of nowhere and made Teal jump. She accidentally activated her Innocence and was near the ceiling.

"Do I scare you that much?" Devitto grinned. "In that case, I have something to blackmail you."

"Popping out of nowhere would scare anybody. At least give me a little warning, you sounded like an akuma went berserk and you wanted to kill me." She said quickly as she lowered herself and deactivated her Innocence. She couldn't say that 'I didn't expect it to do this' he would probably catch on that something was wrong with her Innocence.

"Pfft. Right. I sound nothing like an akuma. If I did, it'd be more metallic. Just admit it, you were scared, Princess."

"Don't call me that." She growled. 'Where did I put my sketch book? Great. Being around him gives me short term memory loss.'

"Looking for something?" He was waving her sketch book teasingly.

"Hey! Give that back!" She ran towards him but he jumped on to a near by moving ladder.

"Ha! You have to be quicker than that! Now… Let's have a look and see what we've got here."

"Ever heard of a thing called boundaries?" Teal jumped onto the railing above him and tried to grab the sketch book out of his hands while she was using her legs to grab on to the railing.

"Ladies shouldn't be hanging upside down like that." He smirked. "Man, you really need more detail in these sketches." He jumped off the ladder and leaned against it. Teal let go and swiftly landed beside Devitto.

"Now, if you don't mind, give me back my sketch book please."

"Since you asked so nicely… No."

'Why does he enjoy yanking my chain? I'm at the point where that maid doesn't seem so bad.' She thought as she was gazing out the window.

"Hey, who're these people?"

"They're just sketches. Most of them aren't real people."

"The ones in the photos, idiot." Devitto pulled out two photos that were in the sketch book.

'Ack!' "None of your business." She swiped the photo and her sketch book from him.

"What's with you, Princess? No need to be bitter."

"Say it with me: BOUNDARIES."

"You should listen to your own advice. Don't escape."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She glared at Devitto and he was hesitating. "You got nothing."

"So who's the one guy in that picture? Is he your boyfriend?" Devitto smirked.

"That is none of you're freaking business!" Teal hissed as she turned red.

"Oh so he is your boyfriend. If I had to guess, I'd say he has some brain damage"

"Devitto, you!" Teal raised her hand as if she were about to hit him. She couldn't hide the fact that Devitto hit something. She stopped herself and walked to the window with her back turned to him.

'Idiot.'

"What? Geez, learn to take a joke." Devitto gave an irritated sigh. He walked over beside Teal as she moved a few steps away from him. Devitto put his elbows on the window ledge and was gazing at the sky like Teal was.

"See something interesting? Nothing out except the moon and some clouds. Look, I'm- How was I supposed to know that you are separated from him because you're an exorcist? It's something you're gonna have to live with." Teal remained silent.

'Oy, lighten up and make my job a lot easier, will ya?'

"If you want to see him so much, join us or at least pretend to, then you won't have to be guarded 24/7."

"Work on your sales pitch. No matter what you do or say, I'm not going to join the clan."

"I said PRETEND you…!" Devitto's anger shot up but quickly went back down. "I'm not here to convince you to join the clan." He said in a somewhat calm tone but his hands were still twitching.

"That so? Then what are you here for?" She shifted her eyes towards him.

"I've been asked to check up on you. Make sure that you were still in one piece after your escape attempt."

"That was a little too quick. Want to try again?"

"What's it going to take…!" His anger shot up but went down quickly.

"Impressive. A lot of guys that I meet don't control their temperature as fast as you do."

"Temperature?" Devitto raised an eyebrow and started to smirk.

"Temper! I meant temper!"

"Pfft. Looks like someone could use a lesson in language." Devitto snorted.

'Dammit, why can't I hold something over him for once? Like some extremely embarrassing moment or something? Duh! I could use my ability and I might be able to get a good memory out of him. Just pretend to fall and when I bump into him, a vision should come!'

Teal moved one foot behind the other and started to walk towards him looking furious.

"You're the one to talk! You're no-" Teal tripped herself on cue but Devitto backed away and let her fall on her face.

'Well, that backfired.'

"Heh, you were saying?"

Teal felt something sharp that brushed against her right shoulder, which was her bad shoulder and her back and when she tried to get up, it was caught in her hair, ripped part of her shirt, snagged on her bandage and she was in a painful position.

'Owowowow! Geez. I really need to be more aware of my surroundings. Not to mention, the floor is freezing.'

"Oh yeah. That board is loose and if you hit it in one spot, that end will pop out."

"Thank you for you input, Captain Obvious. It would've been nice if you told me that earlier!" She hissed.

"Didn't think you'd be THAT much of a klutz. Besides, I thought you were too pissed to listen to anything I say."

"Why you- ACK!" She tried to move towards him but the piece of wood hit a very bad spot and she gritted her teeth.

"Ow. That looks like it really hurts." Devitto said in a fake sympathetic voice.

"I've been through much worse. This is nothing." She said through her teeth.

"Sure you have. I'll help you out on the condition that you listen to me without getting angry or giving me your attitude."

"Wha- Okay fine, you win." She gasped as she slightly shifted.

"Okay. Try to stay still." Teal put her free arm under her chin and waited anxiously for Devitto to get her uncaught. The sooner she was free, the better.

"So you said you wanted to talk? I'm listening so what is it that you want to say?"

"Uh… Nothing really important." 'Okay, what do I say?' Devitto lost his train of thought and just said something off the top of his head. "Just thought you might be bored being all day in that room."

"Oh." Teal said in a neutral tone. She didn't really believe anything Devitto said but she agreed to keep her end of the deal by not making too much of a fuss. She found it extremely odd that Devitto and Jasdero were the only ones who try to connect with her in some way and she didn't trust them at all. However, they were slightly better company than akuma.

'They are still human, in a way.' She thought.

"You know, you could come out of your room as long as you stay here."

"I know. But…"

"But what?"

"It's nothing. Ah! Try not to move my arm!"

"Just shut up and bear it. It's stuck in your bandage and your shirt has a big rip."

'Oh great.'

"Better your shirt than your pants, right?"

"YOU DUMBA- Gah!"

"I told you not to move." Teal moved her free arm slightly and the floor was ice cold all of a sudden. It wasn't unbearably cold, it was noticeable and pleasantly cool like snow. She started to close her hand and it actually was snow, snow that was covered in blood. Her eyes started to water when she thought of HIM.

'Why? Why did this have to mix with that memory?' She buried her head in her arm as the demons were materializing from the snow and creeping towards her. She needed somebody-anybody with her so that she wouldn't be alone.

"There. It's fixed. You can run for the hills now." Teal faintly heard Devitto's voice and his arm was still near hers. She automatically held on to his sleeve feebly.

"Hey, I said you can get up." He was going to get her to let go but she held on tighter as soon as she felt movement. Everything was fading. The gentle snow had become blistering cold that it burned.

"You know, that's why I find you annoying. You're extremely unpredictable and stubborn." Teal loosened her grip slightly and was unresponsive.

"Geez make up your mind, will ya?" When he was going to remove Teal's hand, he noticed that it was really warm and she was breathing heavily.

"Hey!"

Teal shot up and was back in her room. She had her hand on her chest and was breathing heavily. 'These dreams are getting worse. I want to get out now! It has to be done tonight. This time, I'll make sure I get out one way or the other.' Teal quickly gathered her items and threw on her trench coat and headed for the passage she found a few days ago. The maid had gone to get some medicine and it was in the other direction which would buy Teal some time.

When she was close to the kitchen, she started to drag her hand across the left wall. After she was halfway through the hall, a wall disappeared behind a tapestry and she went through. She lit a match to give her some light until she would find a torch or something.

An eerie ember glow was at the end of the stair case. There were plenty of torches but there was enough light that went on for a long time. The room at the bottom of the staircase was like a Noah memorial. In the center, there were fifteen statues that have been eroded away and they hardly had any notable traits other than the stigmata. When Teal approached them, the engravings were also worn away and she could make out a few words out of each one. They all started with their disciple number, part of the name and the rest was eroded. The one that was facing the exit had been shattered and only his feet remained. She bent down and the engraving said 'The 14th'. The engraving had a scratching on it that was illegible and there was a cross at the bottom.

She continued down the cold damp hallway and it started to get darker and she was starting to regret not taking a torch. After the darkness had entered, it was about to leave just as quickly. There was a faint light that could be seen and the echoes of the wind and water filled the tunnel. When Teal emerged, she was under the cliff and a fair bit of distance away from the mansion. Sharp rocks were at the bottom and she had to go further to get in the water. She checked the map and there was a passage that led to another cave which led to somewhere. It went off the map but it led somewhere safe. Most likely. She put her map in her bag and scaled the cliff.

'I hate it when I have to do this by myself without Innocence. Don't look down, don't look down, and don't look down.'

When she reached the top, she didn't have time to rest. The akuma had already detected her presence and started running. She used her Innocence to cut down a tree that landed on them. They couldn't move but it wouldn't last for long. She skidded on the top of the cliff and landed on her hands and knees. She carefully looked over the edge and it looked like a somewhat safe landing. The wind was picking up and there were large waves and possibly a current. There are sharp rocks here as well but there wasn't as many as the other spot. But she couldn't tell exactly where they were.

'Oh God. I really really REALLY wish there was another way.' She stood up and went down the cliff so she could run, jump and get this thing over with.

'I should be okay with my Water Spell. I hope it allows me to breathe. Okay. On three. One… Two…'

"Leaving without saying goodbye, are you girl?" Teal shivered as Tyki's voice came out of nowhere. She turned around and started to slowly walk backwards to the cliff.

"I must admit, I underestimated you. Didn't think you'd actually go this far. But now, it's the end of the line." He smirked. Teal said nothing and took another step backwards. Tyki snapped his fingers and one akuma that was a highly evolved level 2 materialized out of nowhere. It was extremely hideous as its body was twisted, bulging and looked like it was going to explode. It had machetes for hands and razor sharp lances for feet. The face was the ugliest thing to look at. As if a clown had its face burned off.

"I can't promise that you'll still be in one piece if you choose to run. Come back voluntarily, and I can promise that the Earl won't be angry with you." Teal inched towards the cliff. She was so close and could jump now if the rocks weren't so close to the cliff.

"If you're going to run, then I would like a souvenir from you." The clown like akuma hissed as he bared his fangs.

"A what?" When Teal blinked, the clown took a swipe at her head. It felt like he cut something and when she put her hand to her head, there was nothing.

'An illusion?'

"You must think it was an illusion but it's not. Look here~" The akuma cackled. He was holding a transparent black box with some pictures that were scrambling around inside.

"Which is more important? Freedom or a friend? Choose wisely because to lose is to gain and to gain is to lose. My ability is to get rid of anyone, living or dead. Or I can reunite you with someone you miss."

"Someone… I miss?" She started thinking about HIM and was tempted by the akuma's offer. 'No! Idiot snap out of it! It's obviously a trap!'

"That's right, exorcist. Which one will it be? To be or not to be. That is the question in the asking."

"And you wonder why I have issues." She threw her glance at Tyki. Memories were starting to flood in of him and Teal couldn't take another step back.

"This is your last chance, exorcist. Give up or I'll eliminate someone." That person was standing in front of her with his hand extended out, telling her to be where its safe. Teal shook her head and started walking backwards again. That person started to become engulfed by the demons.

"Jacob!" Teal cried as she was about to go back for him. He disappeared and a light engulfed the demented clown. "No!" The clown transformed into an egg and a few seconds later, a level 3 emerged.

"What? What am I doing here?" The akuma looked at its hands and looked up at Teal. "Teal… You… Why did you turn me into an akuma?"

"Jacob…" She whispered as a tear fell on her cheek.

"You had your chance, girl. You can try to run but I'll blow up this akuma." Teal cringed. Allen's words were echoing in her head. "If an akuma is not destroyed by Innocence, their souls will be lost. Forever."

She turned a little bit so her side was facing the akuma. She could jump and swim. She will make it to the cave if she jumps now. Her arm was still in fairly bad shape but it should be good enough for her to make it to the cave. If she jumped, Jacob would be lost forever.

'Innocence… Activate!'


	17. An Act Of Love

An Act of Love

Teal couldn't believe what she just did. How could she be so stupid? She turned her friend into an akuma. She could not bear to look at him. She had two choices: keep going or stay and fight. 'Innocence, Activate!' Her blades and boots activated.

Thunder could be heard and it started to rain. The akuma charged at her and she jumped and did a backwards flip. Her legs and arms felt heavy. The ground was starting to get slippery.

"You are going to pay for what you did! I hate you! I'll never forgive you!" Teal shut her eyes and tried to ignore the stinging words. She wasn't sure if he was saying this on his own or not.

'Combination Attack: Fire and Air 'Dragon's Furry'' Teal hovered high in the air and a wall of fire surrounded her. The fire formed into a blazing red dragon with golden eyes. The dragon dove down toward the akuma and struck it and it didn't go down. All it did was the attack burned off some armor and gave the akuma a burn on the arm and it made a small crater.

When the dragon vanished and when Teal landed in the crater, she was extremely shocked. She was weaker than she thought. She could hardly do any damage to a level three.

"Not bad. Only one of us is going to make it out safely. Who will it be?"

"That's going to be me, Jacob." 'Not too sure about getting out in one piece.'

"Heh. Stupid as ever. You really are good for nothing."

They charged at each other and Teal attacked the akuma's arm. The akuma hit her in the stomach and she skidded on the ground and crashed into a tree. Her arms and legs were bleeding and dirt was added to her face.

'Spell of Earth: Earth Wave' Teal stomped on the ground and she hurtled a wave of rocks at the akuma. The rocks were hard to control and the akuma dodged them all and slashed the ones that were close. Teal had to change spells.

'Spell of Water: Magic Tide' Teal summoned water from the rain and she commanded the water to go near the akuma. When the water circled the akuma, it rose into a high dome and the water caved in on the akuma. 'Freeze!' Teal stopped moving her arms and the water formed into a huge block of ice.

Teal dashed up to the block of ice and before she could attack, the akuma shattered it and attacked her. Teal wasn't knocked off her feet this time but after the hit in her stomach again, she vomited some blood and was forced to the ground.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I chose you! It's your fault because I am suffering now! It's your fault!" He started to kick her all over her body. She covered her face with one arm and was still holding her stomach with the other.

Teal's eyes started to water. She lowered her head to hide any tears. Jacob was so kind before. If it weren't for him, she would know nothing but hate, frustration and sorrow.

Teal sat up and prepared for another attack. Before the akuma could deliver another blow, she was able to use her Earth spell to send him back a bit. She sat on her knees and turned her body away from the akuma. Tears uncontrollably fell on her cheeks. She couldn't shed tears for her comrades. Why could she shed them now? She wiped them away and faced the akuma again.

"Jacob… Tell me something… Why did you choose me out of all people? I was beyond of all hope of any form of forgiveness and yet, you chose to save me." Her weapon deactivated and she vomited again.

"I don't know why I chose to help you. It didn't do me any good. Now, I have a chance to change that by killing you."

"Akuma! You have orders not to kill her!" Tyki shouted. "We need her as a Noah!"

"Make me self destruct then!"

"No! Jacob don't!" Teal shouted. The akuma lowered his arms.

"What's this? You 'love' me so much that you don't want me to self destruct?" He asked slyly. Teal looked down and was holding her stomach with both of her arms. Her throat burned and she couldn't think of what to say.

"You never cared for me at all! You just used me as an excuse! A replacement to soothe your consciousness!" Out of all things he said, that struck a chord. Maybe the only reason Teal did love him is because he was so much like them. From the faint memories that almost faded, she thought they would be like him.

"What's wrong did that sting? It just shows that you're still a dirty little girl. Never really noticed how dirty until now."

"You're- You're wrong!" She activated her weapon again and charged at him.

"Stupid." The akuma teleported and attacked her from behind then picked up Teal by the front of her coat. "You should be where I am." He gasped. Then he tossed her across the crater.

Her arms and legs were heavier than before. They felt more like they are being crushed. They throbbed with a burning sensation and the ice cold mud made it burn even more. Her ribbons felt like they were tightening their grip and they were like chains. Her skin on her arms started to form an odd pattern like hexagonal cells.

'This is bad. I'm breaking.'

"Innocence… Please… Don't give up on me now…" She whispered.

"It's a little late for that. It seems like you can't destroy me because you are no longer the accommodator. You're Innocence is angry with you because of what you are." He attacked Teal's cheek. There was a large cut on it. Teal didn't want to hear anymore and she refused to fight back.

Teal shut her eyes. 'Innocence… Have I deceived you to think that I could fight as an exorcist when I'm the very thing you have to destroy? If I'm no longer an accommodator and we have to go our separate ways then I ask for this one last wish: lend me the strength to save Jacob. Then do with me as needed.' Teal opened her eyes and looked up at the akuma.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to end this." Teal struggled to stand herself up. 'Innocence Maximum Power, Activate!' Her ribbons unwrapped themselves once more around her arms and legs and formed into blades and boots that looked like they were forming wings. They emitted a bright green glow that was three times brighter than normal and the glow engulfed both her arms and legs. She jumped high in the air and tried to go higher so she could perform a strong meteor attack. She didn't have to rely on waves now that her Innocence is at its full power.

'I can't see souls unless Allen is around. I know that level three souls severely suffer. I think that Jacob's soul is just like any level three. I may have enough power to destroy him but I don't think I can manage to restore his soul. My Noah won't help… there has to be something else.'

Everything disappeared and it was pitch black. Teal was just standing there alone. Something appeared in front of her. It was a memory of the time where Tyki attacked Allen and Teal but it went to the moment after Teal sacrificed herself and Tyki left Allen to die.

She remembered that she cared so much for her friend that her heart was protecting him. Teal tried to think back about what made her help Allen. Faith. That's all there was to it. They had to believe in each other.

Everything came back. She was still in the air and she started to descend. 'Spells of Earth, Water, Air and Fire combine: Spell of Heaven: Heaven's Meteor!' A ball of fire was forming at her feet and was engulfing her body. The flames kept on getting bigger and she was getting near the akuma. The cells started to appear all over her body. All Teal could hear was her heart beating in her ears.

She shut her eyes and focused on Jacob. She couldn't let him be lost to the darkness. If that was a fate for her, she didn't want him to share that fate.

'I believe…' A warm sensation went through her body. It was like that feeling at the Order, the same energy surrounded her as she thought of Jacob. As the energy was surrounding her, her eyes showed her another vision. It was Jacob trapped inside the akuma. She could see a dark shadow surrounding his soul that was disintegrating. It was his hate and rage that was controlling him and he was powerless to fight back.

Teal finally landed on the akuma but he was holding the ball of fire back but it was struggling to keep her away.

"Heh, your efforts are useless, Teal! You used up all of your power for nothing!"

"Guess again." The flame engulfed both Teal and the akuma. When the fire completely surrounded both of them, there was a bright light and the akuma had taken form into Jacob, who was just as handsome just like the last time she saw him. It was like time had stopped and she was alone with him in her twelve year old self. He still had his kind gaze and was smiling sadly at Teal as he approached her.

"Jacob. I'm sorry." Teal's eyes were watering as she collapsed in front of him. She buried her face in her hands and tears kept on flowing. "I wasn't strong enough to keep you safe. I-I tried so hard not to bring you back. I know you must be furious with me. I'd be furious. I knew there was another that you loved yet I wanted to keep you for myself."

Jacob reached for her hand and helped her up and continued to smile.

"I'm not mad about that. I'm glad I met you. You were meant for better things." He gently wiped her tear away. "It was rather unfortunate that it things turned out the way they did."

"It meant everything! Jacob, without you, I don't know where I'd be. I just… I want to be with you again." Teal grabbed his hands feebly.

"I know. I wish for that too. However, you'd be living with regret because you would leave the other person you loved behind." He gently removed one of Teal's hands and placed it on her heart. "As your friend, I beg you to listen. I know for a fact that love still exists. Don't lose this fight now just for me." He let go of her and was fading into the light.

"Innocence, bring peace to this akuma's soul!" Teal gave the final attack and the akuma was destroyed. She saw a faint image of Jacob rising from the flames.

"Rest in peace, Jacob…" She whispered as tears fell down her cheeks.

Her arms and legs gave out a sharp pain and they were heavier than before. When the flames vanished, she slowly fell backwards on the ground. She noticed an odd pattern replaced the cells on her forearms and she passed out.  
-

When Teal woke up, she noticed she was back in the room. Her clothes were burnt, dirty and torn. Her arms and legs hurt really bad but some of her injuries were healed. She tried to move her left arm and it took a lot of effort to do so.

When she tried to extend it all the way in the air, it was yanked back immediately. Teal looked at her wrist and it was in a shackle and a chain. She followed the chain with her eyes and it was attached to the bed and another chain was near it. Teal tried to move her legs but they were shackled as well.

'Now they get smart.' She laughed to herself. Then she started to cry. 'Why am I crying? Is it because I'm living? Jacob's free at the very least. I should be happy that I'm alive. I want him here with me. I never wanted to see him so much before.'

Before Teal fell asleep, she heard some voices by her door. She recognized them as Sheryl Kamelot and the Earl echoing in the hall.

"My lord, why not just erase her memories? She'll willingly stay with us and she wouldn't be suicidal. She will go mad if she isn't already."

"I'm aware of that. That is why I told Jasdevi to get close to her. She doesn't trust any of us except maybe them. If she had a friend here, she might be able to settle down. But I don't think she'll be able to escape anymore."

"Oh, so that's why they are around her so often. I just figured that they actually liked her not that they really liked anyone before anyway. But what if we destroyed her Innocence?"

"Only she has the power to destroy her own Innocence. After she finished that battle, Tyki wasn't able to go near it. It is another odd Innocence, protecting its user from the brink of death. At the same time, its prepared to let her die if it is destroyed. I'd rather not spend more years searching for this Noah."

Teal's eyes widened. They were playing her all this time. Any slim hope of reviving a friendship in the very least shattered. She didn't know what to do with herself anymore.  
-

As Teal was dreaming, all she saw were the past events where she attacked and almost killed her friends, and running as Jacob's life was slipping away. Then she saw her friends again but they ignored her and attacked her.

When Teal saw her reflection, she saw herself as a Noah. She was no longer human but that monster similar to what Tyki had turned into. The scenery suddenly changed. She was standing in the middle of the bodies of her dead friends, comrades and the ones she loves. She was holding a sword with blood on it. She dropped it and screamed. Tears burned her face. There was a voice that echoed and said "This is what you will become… There's no escape…"

Teal couldn't handle this anymore and she woke up. She ended up crying again and saying "I can't let that happen…" over and over.

When she settled down, she stared up at the ceiling and she was thinking of what she should do next. 'I've betrayed my friends… I'll kill everyone I care about unless something is done. Jacob… I can't do this anymore.' Her eyes started to water again.

'I want to see you so much. I'm scared but my friends won't die at my hands.'

"I-I want to see him…" Teal mumbled.

Teal leaned her head to her right hand and her fingers grasped a bobby pin from her hair. 'Never go anywhere without one of these things.' She turned the bobby pin over and poked it in the hole of her shackle. Her hands were sweaty and her fingers almost dropped the pin.

After a few minutes, the shackle was unlocked. Teal forced her arm around her body to the other shackles and one by one, she unlocked them. After she unlocked them, she slid off the bed and dropped to her hands and knees. It was extremely difficult moving them but her arms were easier to move.

She was dragging her body on the floor and her legs were starting to bleed a bit. When she could see what was on her she found black patterns on her forearms and her calves. They were a mix between zigzag lines and circles like Lenalee had on her legs when she maxed out her Innocence.

'Why?' She whispered. 'Why did you spare me after all I've done? You know that I will eventually awaken my Noah.' She forced her body to stand up. Her legs were heavy and they wobbled when she took a step.

She decided to go down to the lake barefoot. In addition, her footsteps wouldn't be heard. Teal was able to walk a little while and every now and then she had to drag one or both of her feet across the hall. She didn't know that she left a small trail of blood behind.  
-

Jasdero was coming back from the bathroom and he noticed a dark trail in the hall. He wasn't exactly sure what it was but he noticed that the trail led to Teal's room. The door was slightly open so he pushed it all the way. He noticed that Teal's bag was still in here but Teal was gone and the shackles were unlocked. He ran back to his and Devitto's room to wake him up. Devitto was on the top bunk and was still asleep.

"Hee! Devi! Devi, wake up!" Jasdero poked his brother. All he did was move towards the wall. Jasdero stepped on his bed and slapped him. "There are omelets downstairs." Devitto just put the pillow over his head. Jasdero puffed his cheeks, grabbed the pillow and shouted "HUSTON! WE HAVE A PROBLEEEM!"  
Devitto jumped, hit the ceiling and fell out of the bed.

"Damn it, Jasdero, it's a Saturday. It better be freakin' important. And that's the last time I let you watch Apollo 13." He moaned sleepily.

"It's important alright! Teal's gone!"

"Right. It's not like she can escape after that stunt she pulled the other day. She's probably still recovering."

"It's been like four days she's been sleeping. Hee!"

"Then she probably went to get something to eat or go to the bathroom or something. Like I said, it's not my job to baby sit her. We don't need to be watching her all the time."

"No, I saw this trail coming from her door, it was something dark and I couldn't really tell what it was but I think it may be blood, so then when I come out of the bathroom, I notice the trail, Teal's door was open, so I went in and I saw that her bag was there, and she was gone!" Jasdero was talking extremely fast. Devitto just stared at him.

"Seriously, cut back on the boring movies and cut back on caffeine. But I'll come and help look for her."

"That won't be so hard. All we have to do is follow the trail."  
-

Teal had collapsed again on her hands and knees and was panting. She found it somewhat odd that no one had noticed her go out. Not even the akuma. The sun was rising and the air was a bit cold.

'How long have I been out? It's still October, isn't it?' She coughed and threw up again. Her throat was really dry and she still had a bit of an upset stomach. She forced herself up and continued walking to the lake. She was almost there.

'Almost there. I'm starting to get dizzy from my fever again. Jacob… I'm scared. I'm not sure I can do this.'

"Teal! There you are!" Tears started to flow from her eyes and she couldn't even look at Jasdevi. She just ran as fast as her legs would let her and collapsed as the water was knee deep. She could feel the current under the water and the wind was making it stronger.

'No. Get up. If I stop… I'll be taken back there. Back into the darkness. I hate it there!' She raised her head and tried to force herself to stand up. Everything was shaking and blurry.

'Don't disappear. It's my only way to freedom, my only way to be with him.' The water looked like it was disappearing and it was turning into an endless pit to the darkness.

"This is turning out to be a bad dream." Teal gasped. Everything hurt. The pressure was too much she couldn't even breathe. It was burning, at the same time, it was sheer freezing. Something gave her a jolt that was not part of this ever changing hell.

"This isn't a dream." Teal realized Devitto was holding the arm in front of her trying to make her stand up and Jasdero was right beside her about to grab her other arm to help Devitto get Teal up.

"What the hell are you thinking Teal? It's freezing out, you're not fully recovered, and you still have a fever!"

'Get up. Keep going. I have to keep going.'

"Come on, let's go back." Jasdero said as the twins were able to lift her to her feet.

'Spell of Fire: Fire Wall' Teal's body emitted a red glow and burned the twins' hands slightly allowing her to free herself and step closer to the cliff. She turned to the twins with a vacant, sad expression.

"Teal what is wrong with you? Any reason why you're trying to roast us?"

"We just want to help." Jasdero said as he took two steps forward as Teal retreated when he was coming to her. The water was waste deep and the current was slowly dragging her feet backwards.

"You just want to 'help'?" She gave a bitter smile. "What else is part of your act? I know for a fact that you don't give a damn. It was all just an act." She clenched her fists and she forced herself to lash out at them at their weak spot.

"If you really want to help, then get lost and leave me alone you stupid mon-" She couldn't finish the last word she tried forcing herself to say it but her mouth stayed shut and couldn't stop herself from trembling.

"Teal, you don't want to do this. Don't be stupid and throw your life away." Jasdero said.

"It isn't mine to begin with. And it will never be. This is my decision, don't stop me." She barely took an inch of a step backwards and the ground underneath her started to crumble.

"Teal," Devitto took a few steps forward and Teal retreated again. "This is crazy. You can't do this. You don't want to do this, do you?" Teal remained silent and stared at him with a weak spiteful expression. She couldn't hide her fear from them.

"You're trying to see someone right? By doing this you won't be able to."

"Wha-What are you talking about?" She trembled.

"This is gonna sound really weird." Devitto sighed. "I don't know how but we are able to hear your thoughts. You want to see someone, who is it?"

"It's that akuma that I fought that night. It's just another reminder that he's not coming back! Do you even know what its like to lose someone you care about!" Tears were starting to flow down her face.

"Ye… um…" Devitto and Jasdero said in sync.

"That's what I thought." She bowed her head. Devitto suddenly came up to her and embraced her.

"Let me go!" Teal tried pushing him away but it was useless. He put his hand on her head and brought it close to him.

"I know its hard losing someone close to you. I don't know how painful that feeling is. If there's someone who cares about you, there's no reason to throw your life away. I'm not going to let you die." Devitto said calmly.

Teal raised her head slightly and her eyes widened. It was like those words released her from her nightmare of sorrow. What he said did ring a loud bell. If she did go, she would see Jacob, but she would leave her friends and her master behind. And she could risk becoming an akuma. She couldn't stop herself from crying fairly hard. After a little while, Devitto stepped back and extended his hand.

"Look, Teal, I know we got started on the wrong foot, but we're here for you, me and Jasdero."

Teal started to reach out but she hesitated. She was getting a mixed feeling about this. Part of her told her don't accept it; he's a Noah, he'll drag you back in the darkness. But another part was looking past the Noah.

Before she could accept, she slipped and the current suddenly picked up and carried her under. She was going deeper and deeper into the water. It was so heavy and she couldn't move her arms, she was nothing more than a rock.

'I don't want this anymore. I don't know what I was thinking.' Everything was going numb. The darkness had returned and the light was above her, far beyond her reach.

'Please, just let me live! I can't die just yet.' She thought as she was extending her arm. Something was echoing in the water. It wasn't a normal human voice, nor was it gentle. It was a sad, quiet screech that was traveling through the water. It sounded like English but no words could be made out. While it was traveling, it gave an uneasy feeling that gave her a vision. She felt something brush against her and she was heading toward the light before the vision had time to present itself clearly.

When Teal came to, she was in someone else's room, facing the wall. She looked around and there was a low ceiling above her. 'No wait, I think it's a bed. I guess this is Jasdevi's room. Why would they bring me here instead of the room they keep me in?' She managed to sit herself up and move her legs on the edge of the bed. When she touched the floor, she couldn't notice anything other than everything was cold.

'That vision I had earlier… That feeling… Is so familiar… Is it Innocence?' Another brief vision came and it was some sort of monster in a catacomb filled with some sort of treasure. It was definitely not an akuma. She held on to her head and leaned against the ladder.

'What did I just see?' Something grabbed her wrist and she turned her head around.

"Where are you going?" Jasdevi's voice came from behind her and part of his hair grabbed on to her.

"Um… Thank you. For saving me."

"Where are you going?" Jasdevi asked again.

"Back to the lake." She said weakly.

Jasdevi dragged her towards him, held on to her so he couldn't move and binded her ankles with his hair.

"Wha? Jasdevi… let go of me!" She could feel his hand on her shoulder. She shuddered as his fingers were brushing, or slightly scratching her neck. She could barely imagine what he would do to her. Just being immobile scared her at this point and she couldn't stop shaking.

"I swear I'll do it unless you shut up and listen. In case you haven't noticed, you almost died. You're one of us so deal with it instead of throwing your life away. It's not the end of the world that you were chosen as a Noah. You're still alive, doesn't that mean anything?"

"It does have some value that I'm alive. It's just… never mind." She said quietly as she turned her head.

"Just what?"

"I said its nothing."

"Teal you…" Jasdevi said sharply and jerked her towards him. Teal shut her eyes and gasped as she prepared for the worst but he was only embracing her. "You really are an idiot. You have to think about what you're doing. It affects others too, not only yourself. And another thing…"

"I get it. I know what you're saying. I didn't realize that until I was about to die but I get it." Her voice was slightly steadier then it got weak again.

"Hey, don't interrupt me when I made a damn good speech." Jasdevi's tone got softer and he loosened his grip a little.

"I hate speeches." She glared at him briefly. "I understand what you're saying. I often don't learn until I get hurt."

"And you're afraid of getting hurt?" Jasdevi loosened his grip a little bit.

"Isn't everyone?" She said without looking at him.

"Then you're afraid of what I might do to you?" He tightened his grip a little bit.

"Not really."

"Right. That's why you're shaking."

"Fine. I'm scared out of my wit's end." She paused for a little while as Jasdevi loosened his grip on her again. "Battles and some other I can deal with. But I have been really hurt more times than I'd like to remember. I try not to let that happen again."

Jasdevi let go of her and allowed her to move away a little bit.

"And… you want to talk about it?"

"What are you, a shrink?" Teal raised an eyebrow.

"Technically, no." Jasdero came from behind her. "But we can shrink."

"Eep! A little warning would be nice!" Teal jumped off the bed and clung on to the ladder for support. Jasdevi burst out laughing.

"That's the fastest we've ever seen you move. You should've seen your face." Devitto snickered.

"Will you shut up!" Teal turned red.

"Well, I think we've done our job." Jasdero smiled.

"Eh?"

"We kind of cheered you up. We didn't tell anyone about that incident, thought it might be worse than it is on your end." Jasdero continued.

'Oh. He could be right. I might've lost my memories for sure if the Earl found out. Or they've might've never let me out of their sight at all. But what they did, that does… make me happy.'

"Thanks." Teal mumbled. As she turned her head away to hide her blush. "Oh crap."

"What was that? We couldn't hear you." They said at the same time.

"My coat is really destroyed!" Teal just noticed that. It was burned and extremely torn and beyond a tailor's repair. The sleeves were just two pieces of fabric that was held together by the shoulders and the remains of her Innocence could be seen clearly. The coat waist down looked like it went through the shredder.

"Say what?" They flinched.

"And I really liked this one." She pouted and her eyes watered a little.

"You JUST noticed that? What about thanking us?" Devitto stood up beside her angrily. Teal blushed more as this was awkward. She fidgeted with her fingers and gave him an explanation.

"Well up until now I couldn't really think about anything else. For all I know I could've been naked and I wouldn't noticed! Oh damn, why the hell did I just say that?"

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You mostly look like a boy anyways." Devitto said casually.

'Are you saying that I still have no boobs?'

"Teal…" Jasdero suddenly hugged her and stopped her meltdown. "You're so cute when you act like this!"

"Cho-Choking, not breathing. And I'm not much of a hugger." She pried Jasdero off her.

"I guess you're right. You both saved my life and what you did, I'm very grateful. So…" Before Teal could finish, the door suddenly swung open.

"Hey, can we do something today?~" Road whined. "You promised that you'd play with me."

Jasdero and Devitto simultaneously glared at each other, shared the same grin and looked at Teal who was 'hiding' in the shadows.

"We're sending in our replacement. Will she do for now?" Jasdevi made Teal stand up so Road could see her clearly.

"Eh?"

"Teal, you're awake!" Road glomped Teal and she fell down.

"Apparently, yes." 'So much for an ability that lets me see an opponent's thoughts. The least it could do is give me a 10 second warning before she tackles me.'

"Have fun!"

Road was tugging her arm and almost dragging her. Teal had no time to say 'no' and she was dragged away by Road. She had time to look back and mouth furiously 'You two are SO dead!'  
-

'I take back what I said earlier when I thought things couldn't get any worse. Well, they just got worse.'

"C'mon Teal, this way!" Road led Teal to her room. It was fairly big. The walls were a dark color and there was a mix between pink and dark colored items all around the room. There were candles that floated above them and dolls and stuffed animals were floating as well. There was a black four post bed in one corner and a wardrobe and a dressing area in the other.

'Guess there's no way out of this. I don't have the strength to run.' She sighed. Road sat her on a stool and went into the wardrobe. There were more outfits in there than the closet could hold.

"Let's see… What colour would suit you?"

"As long as it doesn't look like puke I can survive in it."

"How about crimson red?" Teal shuddered as she caught a glimpse of the gothic style dress Road pulled out.

'Red Snow…'

"On second thought, a puke colour doesn't sound that bad."

"Wow, what ideas did the idiots give you?"

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay~ Are you adjusting here alright? We haven't had a chance to talk much."

"No. I mean no, we haven't had a chance to talk."

"I know it's not an easy thing to talk about, but you have to face it sooner or later."

"Oh. Yeah. Becoming a Noah. Not my favourite topic to bring up."

"I have to admit, you're an interesting person."

"Eh?"

"The Deceiver was a powerful Noah and often consumed her hosts. However, she didn't last too long because her hosts were weak. I believe you are the strongest host."

'The way that this is going, I might be able to find something about the curse.'

"Your will and strong heart are admirable. I think that's why the Innocence chose you. It was rather unfortunate that you didn't find out about the price once she was gone. I'm afraid the 'memories' were too strong for the Innocence and that's why it was destroyed."

"Road, do you know…" Teal stopped herself.

"Yes?~"

"Do you know if I was stronger, I could've killed the Noah itself?"

"I doubt it. You may be a great fighter but that would've been beyond anyone's reach. Except maybe the Heart user."

"Also, I'm a little curious but have the Noah ever been together all at once?"

"Mmm… Not for a long time. Well, anyway, I've got the perfect outfit for you!" Road held up a blue dress and a pink apron with cat ears.

"There's no way you're going to make me wear that."  
-

After a few hours, Devitto and Jasdero came into the room. Teal was playing cards with Road and Teal had a sheet wrapped around her and her hair was in a ponytail. Teal's clothes were on the stool on the far side of the room.

"Well, how are you two doing?" Jasdero asked.

"Two eights. We're doing fine. Teal show them what you're wearing."

"Cheat. Show them?" Teal pushed the pile of cards at Road.

"Why not? Nice way to start a friendship by first impressions."

"How'd you know I was cheating? You're the one who cheated earlier when you played those sixes instead of eights!"

"It's called strategy. And you have to pay attention to what your opponent plays. I beg to differ on first impressions. Second impressions on the other hand are when you make a total fool of yourself one way or the other. Been there, done that."

"Okay…" Road moaned. "But show them what you're wearing. They might like it." Road smiled.

"No way. How about they leave, I change back to my clothes, and I show them what I was wearing?" Before Teal knew it, the sheet was pulled off her. She was wearing a pink mini dress with green sandals.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Give that back!"

"Why? You look cute in that. Hee!"

'It's too showy.'

The nightmare vision returned again. Road's room was covered in blood. Teal's hand was twitching badly.

"I'm sorry." She dashed between Jasdevi and on her way back to her room, she collapsed in the hall. The hall was covered in blood and she leaned against the wall.

'Damn. What's it going to take for this to stop?' Her neck started to hurt for some reason. Teal's left hand was by her neck and when she brought it down, her fingers were covered in blood. She automatically licked her finger and it was her own blood. When she licked her finger, the vision was starting to fade.

'It's disgusting. I have to have blood to stop the vision. I know Road said that she's gone but I feel like she's still here. I hate that woman more than ever.'

Teal grabbed a clean cloth, her first aid kit and a change of clothes from her room then headed to the washroom that wasn't very far from her room. The blood on her neck was starting to get on her shirt and she didn't want the others to see. Ever since the nightmare started, she became less and less tolerant of blood.

'This nightmare scares me more than becoming a Noah.' After she finished wiping her neck, she threw the cloth into the tub behind her by accident. She bowed her head and held on to the edges of the sink.

'It's frustrating. After all this time, I'm free of her. Just to be traded for more chains! There has to be a way to break it! God only knows how long until the Heart is found. I don't want to wait that long!'

She wet her hair down so she could get some of the dry blood out. 'But that should be the least of my worries. My Innocence is still alive. Maybe. Just maybe I can synchronize with it again.'

She heard the door open then shut and she turned around. Devitto came in with a towel under his arm.

"How'd you get in here?"

"Lock's broken. Lero broke it."

'I don't even want to know what happened.' "Out! This is a girl's bathroom!" Teal was trying to push him out but she couldn't even move him.

"No, it can be used by anyone. The other bathrooms are on a different level, and I don't feel like walking ten miles to go there. If you got a problem, you can leave." He walked by the tub and Teal lost her balance and fell face first.

"Don't take off your shirt when I'm still in here!" She kept her head down and blushed.

"What? Do my good looks charm you that much?" He took her chin and gently moved her closer to him.

"Don't-Don't be an idi- moron. Have some dignity when you're around a girl."

"You don't seem to be much like a…female."

"I think you mentioned that already." Teal sighed. Her legs started to hurt and she staggered around trying to keep her balance.

"You okay? You're legs seem to have a mind of their- oof. Own." Teal crashed into Devitto and she landed on top of him.

"You are such a klutz. Or are you just that attracted to me?" He smirked.

"ONE Johnny What's-His-Face is bad enough. Besides, I draw the line after friendship. And FYI, I feel like a mermaid who just traded my voice to a witch for legs." She said as she got off Devitto.

"Huh?"

"Ever heard of the Little Mermaid? A kid's story?"

"No, the other thing. About friends. What I said back then, I wasn't that serious. Besides, don't you hate our guts right now?"

"Mmm… I'm still a little angry. But I've lost my edge and can't hold a grudge for a long time nowadays. But… You and Jasdero did save me. It's the least I can do so I'll humour you."

"Okay. Hold on for a damn minute. How do I know this isn't a trick? Trying to use us to get information from the Earl? No way. Not until you become a Noah and your Innocence is dead as a doornail."

"Interesting theory. But there's a flaw. I'm not an entirely Order-law-obeying exorcist. I don't believe in involving others in my agenda when they have nothing to do with it. Besides, gossiping is SUCH a bore and I only eavesdrop if it's something interesting. Like treasure!" She smiled.

"You know, I think that's the first time I've seen you smile since you were brought here. I was getting bored of the same blank dull look on your face." He said as he was helping her up.

"Uh…"

"It's a compliment. You're supposed to say 'thank you'"

"Right. Thank you. Also thank you, from before. I don't know what-"The door suddenly burst open then slammed shut and Lero was panting heavily.

'Damn it! He ruined my moment!"

"Gotta hide, Lero. Gotta hide, Lero. Lero?" Lero looked up and saw a shirtless Devitto holding Teal's hand and they were very close to each other.

"Lord Devitto! You can't be with her! She's an exorcist, Lero!" Lero screeched and shoved himself in Devitto's face. "You are fooling around with an enemy? If the Earl found out, he'd, HE'D… LERO!"

"Will you shut up? You're so goddamn annoying you piece of junk!"

"Will you screw your head on straight for once, Lero! She's never going to join us and she is just using you to- Lero…" Lero's voice died down when Teal found a spot on the back of it's neck that made it pass out.

"Lero is so not going to be happy with me." Teal sighed.

"What did you do?" Devitto raised an eyebrow.

"It's a nerve that makes most people (or animals) faint you hit it in the right spot. I just need a little payback for you sending me to Road then we'll call it even."

"Then you better get out because I'm going to take off the rest of my clothes and I'm not wearing underpants." Devitto smirked.

"Oh God, I did not need to know that! I am GONE!" 'I said payback not… pay…day? How am I going to get him back? Let's see… Horror books. Nah. Even the scariest of the scariest would be like a comedy festival. Wait a minute, I got it! I'll buy him and Jasdero Twilight. Considering they hate vampires.' Teal silently laughed to herself.

'Although, I have to admit, they're not half bad. I guess I can survive a little longer here.'


	18. A Frail Child

A Frail Child

'My precious child… Do you know who those two are?'

'…'

'Can't you sense them? 'Bonds'.'

'…'

'Ah. You hardly have your own will anymore. Very well. I'll do what I can for now.'

The words that came out of my mouth when I saved them were not mine. The Deceiver took over my body to save them. When they came to thank me, I saw the shadows around them and I was terrified.

Why were shadows born? They hide and swallow everything they can find. I hardly remember anything from my past except shadows. I dreamed that I would get out of the shadows so I can live in the light. All dreams must come to an end I guess. It would be nice if I had a dream and then realize it is not an illusion.

"Hello? Teal are you paying attention?" Road was waving her hand in front of Teal's face.

"Hmm?"

"You're drawing a picture in my textbook. And it's somewhat creepy."

"Uhh… are you supposed to be freaked out by this or what?" Teal raised an eyebrow. When she looked down, she drew a shaded picture of the nightmare she's been seeing.

"I told you I suck at functions." Teal started erasing it.

"You said you were good at math." Road whined.

'I still don't know how I ended up helping Road with her math.'

"I never said I was good at everything in math." She glared at Road. "Well, since I'm of no more use to you, I'll be going now." Before Teal left the room, Sheryl just came in the door way.

"So are you two done?" He asked.

"I helped her all I could, so I'm going."

"Where are you going? Not making another run for it again, are you?"

"I'm just going out. No big deal."

"You know, since I'm practically your father, I should know where your whereabouts are until we can trust you not to do something reckless."

Teal turned her head to him and gave him a death like glare. "I'm not your kid. And what the heck am I gonna do that is reckless?"

"Let's see, sneaking out to pick fights, I believe that's what yankis do."

"I'm an EX-yanki. Note the prefix 'ex'."

"How thick is your record?"

"My record is… HEY! You can't start asking questions like that!"

"I rest my case. You're bound to do something reckless."

Teal slapped herself on the head. 'I'm not gonna go black… I'm not gonna go black… I'm not gonna…' Teal heard a loud heart beat and her nightmare vision was starting to come back then it faded away.

"Fine… I'll continue helping Road with homework."

"Good girl. You're such a good daughter." He smiled then walked away so he could avoid Teal's death glare.

Teal felt like she went deaf for a minute and her nightmare vision came back. This time, a shadowy figure of a person was in front of her. They were covered in shadows and the only thing visible on this person was something on their forehead.

'A Noah? No… It's not stigmata… It looks like… eyes?' She shook her head to snap out of it.

"You alright?" Road asked.

"Uh… yeah. So what other homework do you have?" She moaned.

Road put about four books on the table. There was geography, Shakespeare, and two others that Teal couldn't read.

'Damn. Why do I have to do the ones Shishou didn't teach me? I don't even understand this Shakespeare stuff. I shouldn't be doing this, I should be training! I should be researching about the Curse! I should…'

"Teal are you…" Road was sounding a little annoyed.

"I'm awake! I'm paying attention!"

"You're writing on my book and the table again. Ugh, you're worse than Jasdevi." She complained.

"Uh…" She gave a bit of a nervous smile.

"What's this? Do I hear that your education has been put down to our level?" Jasdevi came in the room.

"The difference between you and me is that I actually TRY."

"Heh, maybe if you were the smart you would make her do her own homework instead of doing it for her. Oh but wait, since you're doing it for her, I guess you're probably stupider than us since you let someone manipulate you so easily."

"How about you split up so I can beat the living hell out of which one said that? If you tell me the truth, it won't be as bad as it sounds." She gave an evil smile.

"Somehow, I don't believe you're that threatening." He was referring to her somewhat lack of mobility.

"True, I may be stupider than you in a couple of ways but due to some circumstances, I wasn't able to learn a lot of things. So I kind of want to do it now. But that doesn't mean I want to do EVERYTHING." She glared at Road.

"Oh, real smooth. We're not buying it."

"What?" She turned her head to Jasdevi.

"You're just trying to show us you're not manipulative."

"Oh… Well, that wasn't my intention."

"Now I'd say you're on Tyki's level. You couldn't figure that out until we told you." Teal threw her shoe at him but his hair caught it. Then she threw the other one at him right after that his hair caught it again.

"Not falling for that one again!" He stuck his tongue at her.

"Oh that's real mature. Hmm… come to think of it, when I was outside this morning, I might've stepped in porcupine crap. Or was it skunk crap by a skunk den? Plus I was wearing them all day while I was sitting here helping Road with her homework. Geez, I can't remember. Isn't ironic since I'm the Noah of Memories?" She shrugged.

Jasdevi had a disgusted look on his face and quickly separated into Devitto and Jasdero. They were both holding a shoe by the laces.

"That's disgusting! Now we got shit in our hair!" They threw Teal's shoes back at her.

"Well, you know what they say; a man's most valuable possession is a bar of soap. Or something along those lines." They stormed off down the hall.

"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you." Road was slightly amused. "Pulling something dirty like that."

"I just wanted my shoes back."

"Did you really mean that? About you stepping in poop and being near skunks?"

"Mmm… Yeah. I don't think I was able to get all of it off though."

"Ugh! That's gross! Go outside and clean them!"

"Alright, have it your way." When Teal was out of the room and down the hall where Road couldn't hear her, she couldn't help it but laugh a little bit.

'That got me out of doing homework.'

----------------

'Okay… So tomorrow I should start over there… By that log that is somewhat slanted… Then I can train my legs by going up the branches… And then… I got nothing. I might as well go on the roof for a while.' She sighed.

'Oh yeah. I have to use a balcony. I can't climb these vines. And I have nothing to help me here.' She started walking around the wall to see if there was another entrance inside the mansion. 'Or on second thought, I'll go down to the lake for a bit. It's easy access and easy to get back up.'

On the way there, she stopped due to a pain in her chest. She found it hard to breathe and she had a vision. It was pitched black and she could hear someone saying 'Such a frail child.' And she could hear herself saying 'I don't want to die. I don't want to see the scary shadows.'

"My memories…" She gasped. She continued on towards the lake but stopped at the ledge. It was too dark to see where she was going.

'It's cold… I shouldn't be out too long. I might be coming down with something.' She was wearing a short shirt and shorts so she could move around more easily. The sound of the small waves was calming her a little.

'I'm kinda thinking of staying until I find something about the curse and reactivate my Innocence. But that means I might have to become a Noah myself. Since the Earl is using the others to spy on me, two can play at this game. However, if I'm caught, he'll erase my memories for sure if he's not going to kill me.'

"I'll do my best!" She said proudly. She heard a rustle in the trees. She couldn't tell who it was and she was starting to get scared.

"Who's there?!" 'What if it was that guy who was trying to kill me? I dropped my knife last time and I have nothing to defend me with.'

'Scary… The scary shadows will get me…' Teal was clutching her head and praying for that voice to stop. The thing in the bush was right behind her. She swung her arm at him as hard as she could and hit it in the stomach. When she turned around, it was Tyki.

"Ah! Um… I'm sorry,"

"If you're that scared of coming out here, you shouldn't have come out at all." He said as he stood up.

"No, I'm not scared of coming out here. I thought you were a psycho killer."

'Oh great…' "So is that how you see us?" He gave a half chuckle.

"No, that's not what I meant. Well, you did almost kill me twice, but I didn't mean that. It's just that I'm on edge…"

"Oh, I see. So are we that frightening?"

"No, no! I admit the Clan does scare me a bit but I swear that's not it!"

"Alright. You're quite different than I pictured you to be." He turned away from Teal.

"Eh?"

"I'd figure you'd want nothing to do with us since you hate us so much." He said as he was lighting up a cigarette.

"I did hate the Clan. But now… I'm not so sure. I've noticed that you're so much like humans and I never asked myself why I've hated you."

"So you're accepting your fate?"

"Not yet. Once I find what I'm looking for, I'll consider fighting for this side."

"What are you looking for exactly? I hope it's not Innocence."

"Heh. I'm not that stupid, Tyki. Later." She waved as she headed back to the mansion.

Her legs were starting to get tired and it felt like she was going to collapse any minute. When she walked up the small hill to the mansion, she noticed a ladder leaning against a wall that wasn't there before.

'A shortcut… That is if I can climb it.' It was fairly difficult to climb a small ladder. When she reached the top, she noticed that Jasdevi was on a lower part of the roof.

"Dang it, you stole my spot!" She said after she slid down to meet him. He didn't say anything to her.

'He's probably still mad at me.' "Erin was the one who taught me that prank. I had to come up with something to get of doing homework."

"Ever consider that you talk too much?" He said.

"Mmm… nope."

"So stop sucking up to me. You're the one who pissed me off so why should I pay attention to you?"

"You don't have to. I'm just talking to you, what's so wrong about that?" She was finding it slightly hard to breathe and her heartbeat was very loud to her. 'I don't think that was my imagination this time. I'd better go back before…' Blood was starting to appear on the roof and the air was heavy. Her hand was twitching and she felt like she was dying for some blood.

"I'm going back in…" She struggled to stand up and she only took a few steps before everything was covered in crimson and the air was so tense it was almost impossible to breathe.

"Teal, are you alright?" Jasdevi asked. Teal collapsed before she could answer.

"Teal!" He supported her so she could sit up and she was breathing heavily. "Dammit, you have a fever don't you? You know you're not supposed to overdo it you idiot." Jasdevi let her go because he was holding her by her arm and her Innocence was rejecting his touch.

'Dammit. Her Innocence is still in tact…' His arm was getting worse when he came in contact with her Innocence.

------------

'Huh? I'm back in my room?' Teal slowly sat up and something fell from her forehead. 'Oh… It's a cloth… I still have a fever.' She felt really dizzy but she had no problems breathing again.

"Oh! You're awake! Are you feeling okay?" Jasdero was in her room and he was hiding something behind his back.

"I'm alright… It was just a light attack. Thanks for helping me. Also, you still mad at me for pulling that prank on you guys?"

"That? Not really. Although, it was a good one. Hee! You said that you're friend taught you that?"

"Uh-huh. When Erin pulled that on me, I was freaking out for hours." Teal gave a small smile.

"Is Erin one of the exorcists?"

"Oh, no. She's my friend from when I met Shishou."

"And you were still a yanki at the time were you?"

"Yeah. I can't remember why I became a yanki in the first place. Shishou and Erin were able to help me. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable but I got used to it. Erin was trying to be a mother like figure and Shishou was…" Teal looked the other way to think for a moment.

"A father like figure?"

"Um… I don't like to refer to him as my father. I wish I could say that he was but I just can't for some reason."

"But you refer Erin as your Mother?"

"Ah! No… When I started to live with Shishou, I told Erin that I never been around 'proper' girls so Erin started to act like a mother to me. Although, she's my age."

"Sounds like you had an interesting life. We basically lived here and learned how to control our powers. Hee! It was kinda great since we didn't have to do anything except fight and we could do whatever we wanted to. Hee! And we got to eat at high star restaurants often too! We also had to attend balls occasionally." He shuddered.

"Uh… What's so great about attending a ball? Do people just stand in a circle and watch a ball roll around? Doesn't sound very fun."

"Hee! Hahaha! You're funny, Teal." Jasdero couldn't stop giggling.

"What did I do?!" Teal coughed.

"A ball is basically a party where nobles gather. There's a lot of dancing." Devitto was standing in the doorway. Teal could see there was something sticking out of his face or something.

"Wait, when you say dancing…"

"Social dance. Guys with girls. And most of the time it's a pain in the a- What the?!" He noticed a string was hanging from his nose and pulled it out. It was one of Teal's toiletries. Teal pointed at Jasdero quickly and when he stopped giggling, he said "Lero did it. You're a really heavy sleeper, Devi."

"Grr…"

'Social dance… guys and girls…' "Oh my god!" Teal was freaking out.

"What now? You're fever's not gonna go down if you panic like that all the time, idiot."

"I'm not panicking… I was just thinking too hard…"

"You're freaking out over nothing. That's panicking. Or am I just that good looking?" He smirked. Teal turned red.

"Teal, you're such a pervert!" Jasdero pointed at her.

"You're the one who stole one of my 'things'! While I'm on the subject, give me back my bra."

He gave a nervous laugh then hesitantly handed it over.

"Again with the bra. You said I was the pervert?" 'I have to find a better hiding spot. Better yet, I'll get a mouse trap.'

"Actually, you know what, I'll make you a deal. 'Scuse me." Devitto moved away so she could reach for her bag under her bed. She grabbed a pencil and handed it to Jasdero. If you can make this pencil stay on your chest for 30 seconds without any kind of help, I'll get you your own bra. But please don't do it here."

"How the hell do you come up with these friggin' ideas? You're insane!" Devitto said.

"Who said I wasn't? Besides, everyone can be insane sometimes." A vision suddenly came to her without warning. She saw the same man with white hair and a shadow hovering over him. '*Wi…*bzzt*…er *bzzt*' 'cu*bzzt*'

"You alright? Was it another attack?" Jasdero asked.

"No. I just saw something. It wasn't that clear so I can't say what it was."

"You're lucky. I kinda wish I had ability like you have." Devitto said as he leaned against her bed.

"Eh?"

"The ability to see the future or anything at all." Jasdero finished. "It sounds kinda neat."

"Young masters your time is up." An akuma servant knocked at the door.

"Hey, we can stay here if we want to. So get lost!"

"You should let Miss get some rest. That's why Master Tyki asked me to throw you out."

"Screw Tyki!" They both shouted. Teal started to laugh really hard and couldn't stop it.

"S-sounds like you guys have some issues. But yeah, I should get some rest."

"Alright. And if you do something stupid and you're not fully recovered, I'll beat the crap out of you." Devitto said.

"I'd like to see you try. I fight back." Teal made a fist and put her hands together showing that she accepted his challenge. "Later."

'Man, I haven't laughed like this in a while.' She fell back on her bed. 'It's like déjà vu…'

----------

I don't remember much being with Justin. My earliest memory that I remember clearly was when I was nine. I knew my name, my age, what I dreamed of, what I loathed and nothing else. The last thing I remember before that was Justin died. I was six when that happened and it puzzled me that I was nine and I couldn't remember what happened for three years.

I was wandering the streets aimlessly. It was winter and I saw that some children were laughing and they were with their families. I had nothing. I was full of envy and hate and I acted like I didn't need anyone.

One day, I went into a yanki turf and they were about to beat the crap out of me but they stopped and decided to recruit me instead. When they explained the rules, I was terrified because I would surly fail the trials over and over because I'm a weak child. I did fail a few trials but I overall passed the tests and I became a rookie yanki known as 'Shark Bait' or I was practically the Scape Goat.

Every night, I'd hear these girls talk about their 'horrible' lives and why they were here. They fought every night to ease their frustrations. I fought because I had to survive and I was venting my anger as well. What pissed me off the most was the fact that I was left with nothing and it felt like the world was taunting me with what I don't have. I started to get angry over the tiniest things and I would beat others mercilessly.

Over the next couple of years, I moved up in the ranks because I was one of the most brutal members in my group and I had earned the name 'Shadow Siren'. My temper was the one to thank for that. I knew then that I was still not satisfied after becoming a strong fighter. I was still weak. I acted like I didn't need anyone but the truth was, I wanted to be noticed.

One day, I got separated from the group because the cops were chasing me. I scaled a wall to get away from them and what I found on the other side was a dojo. I went closer just to look around a bit and I had my wooden sword ready if there was somebody.

I heard a phone ringing and small footsteps running towards me. I hid underneath the deck just before someone came into the training area. I heard a voice of a small boy. He was talking to his parents or someone and he shouted to someone else. I came out when I thought it was safe and that boy was standing on the deck.

"Hiya! Where'd you come from?" He asked cheerfully. I drew my sword and threatened him.

"Shut you're friggin' yap, you little brat. If that damn cop finds me here because of you, I'll beat you black and blue."

"Whoa, how old are you? I don't meet kids my age very often." He just kept on smiling at me.

"Why the hell do you keep on doin' that?! Don't you know who I am, dammit! Now shut you're friggin' yap!"

"A girl like you shouldn't be saying things like that." A man appeared out of nowhere. "And please put that thing away. I'm sure your parents wouldn't approve of this." He wasn't scolding me.

"Well, obviously they wouldn' give a damn because if they did, they would do somethin' 'bout it, wouldn't they? I don't need your concern you old geezer so go to hell!"

There was a knock on the gate and a cop announced his name. I fled into the bush and I got stuck. I was cornered like a rat. The man went to the gate and talked to the cop and I thought I was dead for sure. But the cop left and the man helped me out of the bush.

"Why'd the hell did you do that? You could've gottin' rid of me."

"Because I think it's wrong for a child who has been in the wrong direction to be arrested. You're scared and confused, aren't you?" He still didn't scold me. I could feel a warming aura around him and it was uncomfortable for me.

"I don't need anyone! I'm not lost or confused! I don't care about anyone just like they don't care about me! I just wish everyone would die."

"Actually, you do need someone." He bent down and touched my shoulder. "You do want them to care. Is that why you're in so much trouble?" I started crying for no reason. What he was saying was true. I nodded.

"I see. Well, if you like fighting so much, how would you like to be my apprentice? You have potential and I can see you like fighting but I can teach you to control your fists. And I can probably teach you more about how to use your sword. How about it?"

"I'll-I'll think about it."

Our group was staying in this city for a while. A tournament was coming up and the winner got a very special prize that led to treasure. I played hooky for a few meetings to visit that man and that boy. I mostly watched them from a distance and rarely talked to them. When I finally made my decision to become his apprentice, I thought the group would be happy about my decision. I was dead wrong. They were appalled that I was a strong member and I was going to leave. They held me down and everyone in the group beat the living crap out of me.

After I started living with Shishou, I started to see more clearly. One thing I was wearing but I never noticed once was the black and gold ribbon around my neck. Something told me that someone special gave this to me but I couldn't remember who.

When I first met Erin, he asked me if I had spent any time with women other than the yanki members. I was quite surprise what happened after I said 'no'. He did everything he could to become a girl and then the day that I started living with Shishou I thought that someone else had come to live with us. I was laughing harder than I ever laughed before.

--------

'My chest doesn't hurt anymore. So it's as good as any time to start my training.' She walked around a little bit so she could get used to her legs then she grabbed her coat and headed outside. Jasdevi's chicken was right outside her door. And it attacked her when she woke it up.

'Sheesh! What the heck is up with this chicken?' She grabbed it by its neck picked it up. She had a firm grip on it but it was far from death.

'Geez, where's their room? Is it down here or is it on a different floor?' She looked at her map in her coat pocket and she studied it for a minute. 'Oh, it's at the far end of the hall. I only go as far as either the stairs or the balcony area.'

The chicken was still trying to attack Teal and it bit her finger pretty hard. She used her other hand to hold the chicken so she could see if it drew blood from her or not. It gave her a small cut and it bit her again and made a large cut in her other hand. On top of that, her left wrist was bleeding again. The nightmare vision was starting to return and something inside her was lusting for blood.

'No! I have to resist! I don't care if it kills me, I won't do it!' Teal brought her left hand up and was about to drink her own blood but she forced herself to put her hand down.

When she got to the end of the hall, she concealed her map contents and headed to a door that was in somewhat bad shape and had signs of death threats, skulls all over and a big red 'Do Not Enter' sign at the top.

'This looks promising.' She muttered her silencing spell and went in. 'Where am I supposed to put this thing so it's not going to get out again? What the heck am I stepping on? I don't even want to know.'

She noticed that Jasdero was sleeping right next to the wall on the bottom bunk. When they were younger, hardly anything could wake him or Devitto up. Teal was extremely nervous because she was pretty sure that they were more alert.

'I guess this stupid thing wouldn't jump down from there. Where's Devitto head? I see his back but… ' She took one step on the ladder and put the chicken on his bed, where his shirt and coat were. Before Teal got off the ladder, Devitto grabbed her left hand and was holding on to her wrist.

'Oh no. He's awake! Wait, no he's not. But still, he has a tight grip on my wrist.' She reached for her own hand so she could pull it away put she stopped and then gently touched his stigmata.

'I remember that when they started transforming, I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain they were going through.' Without realizing it, she was stroking his hair. 'I stayed up late many nights until they fell asleep. I wanted to cherish them and help them any way I could. I wonder if I really made a difference.' The chicken was starting to get restless and her silencing spell would wear off any time now due her magic is limited.

'I'd better go.' She pulled her hand that Devitto held on to then quickly went out of the room. She tripped over something while she was heading out. It felt really slimy on her leg and she thought for sure that would wake them up but her spell didn't wear off just yet. She forced herself up then went out the door just before the spell wore off. The chicken went berserk the moment it did.

After about 20 minutes, Devitto couldn't take its constant clucking then hit it as hard as he could as if he were to break an annoying alarm. "Dammit, you stupid chicken, shut the hell up! You better have not have wrecked my shirt again! Hold on, how the hell did you get up here?"

He checked underneath him but Jasdero was still in the same position he was in when Devitto fell asleep.

'Then…' He noticed something dark on his hand and he could tell it was fresh blood. Just then, he heard someone scream "Help Me!"

"Teal…" He just put his coat on and bolted out the door. He went on the roof and he saw Teal bloody and motionless on the roof. When he ran up to where she was, she just vanished.

'I think I was just hallucinating.' He was about to head back to his room to get back to sleep then he heard something crash in the forest.

-------------

'Ah crap. First my legs won't jump then I run into the tree face first, now I'm caught in a trap the stupid akuma forgot to remove.' Teal was hanging upside down by her ankle by a vine trap that one of the akuma set up back when she made her first escape attempt.

'Okay, if I can reach that rock, I might be able to snap it.' She started swinging towards a branch that was nearby and grabbed it. She reached for a large root that was underneath it and then she used her arms to crawl down the root.

'C'mon, don't give up on me now. Keep going…' Her arms gave a sharp pain and couldn't move them and she let go and she crashed in the tree.

'This could take a while.' She sighed.

"Can't you go one day without making trouble or being in trouble?" Devitto asked.

"This time, this was not my fault. It was the stupid akuma's fault. After my first escape attempt, they forgot to remove this stupid booby trap."

"You might want to hang on to something." He walked over to one of the big roots to the tree on Teal's right.

"What?"

Devitto snapped the vine where it was tied on the root. "I told you to hang on to something." He said.

"…Thanks." Teal was clutching her head.

"Hey, were you in our room earlier?"

"Uh… Yup. It was only to drop that crazy chicken off, that's it!" She kept her head down and was a little red. Devitto sat down beside her.

"Care to explain this?" He held out his had that was covered in blood. Teal froze and couldn't answer.

"Remember what I said last night?" His voice was calm then he suddenly was furious. "If you're not fully recovered, I was going to beat the crap out of you!" He looked like he was about to hit her.

"Wait! Wait! I am recovered! My wrist was bleeding again! When I put that chicken of yours back, you grabbed my wrist!" She said quickly. 'I'm at my limit and I can't even lift my arms to block.'

"I don't buy that. You're still pale and that tells me that you still have a fever and you could have another attack. It takes more than a few hours to get rid of a fever."

"Uh… Well… I recover more quickly than most people. But I'm fine!"

"Okay, I got it! If you start panicking you're fever's gonna come back." He gave her a small light hit on her head.

"Just don't overdo it. I don't want to have to carry you again. It's a pain in the ass." His voice was calmer and he sounded a little concerned.

"You alright?" Teal asked.

"Why are you asking this now? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You don't seem yourself. Normally, you'd be pissed for a while but you're kind of out of it and you're the one who's pale. I'm starting to wonder if you have a fever. Here, hold still." Teal put her hand on his forehead.

"You are a bit warm… I guess we both shouldn't overdo it." She smiled.

Devitto gave a small hard laugh. "I don't really get you. You still are able to smile even though you have to live with something that makes you a monster."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey guys! I want to say thank you to all my readers and I'm really sorry for the length of time it takes me to write this. Between school, work and lack of ideas, it's just… AHHHH!!! I couldn't think of anything but somewhat dirty jokes. Could you guys tell me what you think of my 'dirty' jokes? It's okay if you don't like them. So I'll hope you like this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can. Later!


	19. Further Into The Shadows

Further into the Shadows

There was a silence between them. Teal didn't know how to respond. She hung her head and glanced at her Innocence. She thought that the only thing that made her a monster was that woman. Does Innocence create monsters? To some people, it may seem like it's a monster.

"Well, I'm going back to bed. It's freezing out here." Devitto yawned.

"Later." She said weakly and waved. 'I don't think Innocence would make me a monster. Although, I can't say that I like it. The day these ribbons wrapped themselves around my arms, it felt like chains. Somebody had to choose my life for me, whether it was that woman or God. I'm not happy about that one bit.' She started to practice her attacking techniques on the tree.

'I keep on thinking about Allen… I wonder how much time is left for him.'

-----------------

At the Order… A Few Days Later

"Komui, here's the Innocence we collected…" Allen yawned.

"Allen, I'm not Ni-San. Are you sure you're alright?" Lenalee asked. She held him up by his arm.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just…" The shadow of the fourteenth appeared out of nowhere and was standing beside Lenalee. "Tired." He finished.

'That shadow has been appearing more than usual. It's like he's trying to tell me something but I can't quite make it out. And I've been having these weird dreams lately.' Lenalee leaned towards Allen.

"It's not him again, is it?" She whispered.

"LENALEE! ALLEN I'LL MURDER YOU!" Komui just walked in the area and from his angle, it looked like Lenalee was about to kiss Allen. He had his infamous drill in hand.

"Ni-San, don't embarrass me again." Lenalee threw an icy glare at her brother but she dropped it when she saw Rouverlier.

"Good day, Allen Walker and Lenalee." He gave a cold smile.

"What do you think he's doing here? He's not supposed to come here until next week." Some Science Members were muttering.

"Maybe they finally found her. That exorcist that was taken by the Noah."

"I heard that she's dead. Last time the Order heard from her was almost three weeks ago. First Cross, then her. At this rate, we'll lose all the exorcists."

"Not necessarily. I've heard that…"

"Shut it, runt! We're not supposed to blab about that!"

Lenalee turned to Allen. "Do you think something has happened that will give us an advantage? I've been hearing stuff like that for a little while now."

"For now, I'd think its best if the exorcists stay out of it." Link came out of no where. "Some secrets are not meant to be uncovered. As for your friend, she's the least of your worries."

-------------

"Teal…" Road poked Teal's shoulder. She had her back to Road and was lying on a couch. "Teal, wake up."

"…No." She moaned. "Your math is on the table. Go to school." Road took her book and went out the room.

'I can't get back to sleep. I wonder who else is here.' She checked her map and the only Noah in the mansion were Tyki and Sheryl. The Earl was probably making more akuma, Road was going to school, and Teal didn't know where the others were.

For the past few days, Teal tried training by herself in the woods but only got a little bit of progress.. She could still fight but it is not as effective as normal.

'I think what I'm gonna do is see if I can't get my job going again. Or I'll see whose hiring. There's no way I'm staying with those two.'

After Teal got changed into a long sleeve shirt and casual pants, she was stopped by akuma in the hall.

"Where d'you think you're going, girl?" It had a firm grasp on her shoulder.

"I'm… going to town. To meet up with Devitto and Jasdero." She smiled. 'I have no idea where they are right now. Please, for once please be in town.' "Besides, I haven't done anything stupid in the past week and a half." She put her arms behind her head.

"Perhaps one of us should escort you." The akuma said suspiciously. "So you won't run away again."

"Um… Hello?" Teal rolled up her sleeve revealing her Innocence.

"So what? How do we know that you still won't try to run?"

"Well…" Teal thought about it for a minute. "Look, just give me a chance. I'm not going to run, I swear!"

"Not buying it, exorcist." Teal mentally slapped herself out of frustration. 'Okay… Think! Think! They're obviously smarter than the cops but much stupider than the Noah. How the heck do I con them? Unless…'

Teal summoned a power that stopped time and showed the memories of the akuma. They were like small photographs/ video memories in a circle. She chose the recent memory of the conversation.

'I only know how to show memories and erase them… a little bit. If I could manipulate them then does that mean I could make them the way I want it?' She focused on the part where the akuma didn't believe her and she imagined them believing her and letting her go without question. When she let go of the memories, they automatically flowed back into the akuma and time returned back to normal.

"What are you still doing here? Get going!" The akuma said.

"Alright." 'That was interesting…' She thought as she jumped off the roof into the forest. 'So the Deceiver killed others by erasing every one of their memories? It feels kinda weird. A part of me wants to kill. This feeling… kinda makes me feel like its okay to do these things. I know it's wrong! I just have to do what I think is right. Shishou did say that many people have different sides on different things and the only right way is what is right in your heart.' She gave a small smile. 'I want to fight with my friends and I also want to break the curse so the Noah can be spared. Is there a right way to do both things?'

* * *

"Inspector Rouverlier, to what do we owe this pleasure of your early visit?" Komui placed his chin on his hands.

"I've come to talk about the exorcist that you recently lost."

"Teal? What about her?"

"I'm not so convinced that she's an ally." He threw some thick files on Komui's desk. "After we started the investigation on Allen Walker, we have learned that one of the original 13 Noah resides at the Order through another investigation."

Komui was looking at Teal's criminal record, reports of the Noah Clan, and a few other things.

"Inspector, I don't believe that this is enough evidence to support your argument. Just because she was a juvenile delinquent doesn't mean anything. True, the marks that she has are a sign of Noah but she knew nothing about them. And she has an ability that has only been used by a Noah but she has used it to help us."

"You try so hard to protect the Exorcists, Supervisor. Do you recall in the report of the ark that she nearly killed Allen Walker? She somehow was possessed by the Deceiver and now since she's gone, that makes her the next Noah. It has been nearly a month since she last contacted the Order. I'm starting to wonder if she hasn't already betrayed the Order."

The phone rang on Komui's desk.

"Hello?"

"Komui? That you?"

"Teal?! Where are you?!"

"Do you really want to guess at that? I'm back at square one." She sighed.

"What's taking you so long to get out of there?"

"Okay… I maxed out my Innocence. They've been keeping a close eye on me after that and I finally was able to get back to town. Long story short, I can't make it back unless I recover my Innocence and I've got a feeling that's going to take a while." Rouverlier took the phone from Komui.

"Hello Teal, this is Inspector Rouverlier." Teal shivered. She briefly saw him at the Order and he frightened her. She swallowed hard.

"You said that you're Innocence is maxed out? But they haven't been able to destroy it?"

"Yes sir. Inspector with your…"

"Excellent." He interrupted her. "What you can do is force an evolution into a crystal type."

"What?! I can't even activate it! I don't think I have a good synchro-rate."

"Well then, try to raise it and when it's high enough, it should evolve. In the mean time, I have a mission for you. Will you accept it, Exorcist?"

"Yes sir."

"If you think it will take some time to reactivate it, make use of it and spy on the Noah. Send us any information that you can, whether be it by telegraph, carrier pigeon or whatever, send whatever you can. Do you know another language that is not commonly spoken? Like Hindi, Hungarian or Japanese?"

"Yes. So I send it then you'll translate it?"

"Precisely. Bookman is more than capable of doing that. Gain their trust, gather any information about the Earl's movements, akuma factory, anything at all. One more thing: collect any Innocence that you come across. You're uniform has a powerful spell that hides the scent of Innocence. But be careful. If you have too many, then the spell will not be able to protect them."

"Alright. Also is Allen alright?"

"Do not worry about him. You're first priority is your mission."

"Please, I have to…" He hung up before she could finish. 'I hate him.'

------------------

"Why'd you just send her on a suicidal mission? If she's caught, the Earl will kill her for sure."

"This will prove where her loyalties lie. Besides, you have her record and I've seen her in battle. She is capable of doing something like this. I wouldn't worry about the Earl killing her. They are desperate and they can't afford to lose another Noah."

--------------

'Great, just great.' Teal's silencing spell wore off and she slipped her golem into her backpack. 'This is gonna take a while. But I won't go back until I find everything I can about the curse.'

She checked her map and she saw that Devitto and Jasdero were at the other side of town. She was scanning her map then she came across two familiar names. It was her master and her friend.

'Oh my god. They're here! Wait, is this supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing? I don't care!'

"Rawk! Special delivery! Shadow Siren! Special delivery!" Her master's pet parrot was standing on the post just out side the door.

"Oi! Lady! No delivery birds allowed! Get out before I call the cops!" The manager of the shop was furious.

"AlRIGHT! Sheesh." Teal offered her arm and the bird jumped on it. "Hey, mind moving to my shoulder? I can't support you." The bird moved up her shoulder and she untied the letter attached to his leg. She read it and started walking down the busy street.

"Teal, Yoshi noticed your scent in town, (as you know he's a delivery bird and has been trained to track a person by their scent) so I decided to stay in town for a while. I've set up a dojo and I hope you come to visit me some time. Don't worry, I won't be leaving until I meet you at least a few times. If I do decide to travel again, I will let you know and you are welcome to come with me. See you soon."

Teal checked the date and it was written the day after she was on her second escape attempt.

"I haven't seen Shishou in over a year. I think I'll visit him since I'm here." She said to Yoshi.

"You bet, Weakling. Rawk!"

"I defiantly didn't miss you. You still are a loud mouth bird brain."

"Shut up, Shadow Siren. You made me like this. Rawk!" Something touched Teal's shoulder and she jumped.

"Excuse me, did I hear that bird correctly? You're dead, Siren." It was a cop that Teal recognized.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?! You show up as soon as I'm about to have a reunion!" She pointed at the cop.

"Someone got lazy. Besides, I'm here for another day then I'm going back. And I'm hauling you back with me."

"Uh oh! Busted! Sorry kid, you're on your own." Yoshi flew away.

"Not gonna happen. You weren't able to catch me when I was 13 so why bother now? And what was your name again? It's on the tip of my tongue." Teal tapped her head. "Oh yeah! Turdfergison." She grinned.

"It's TURKSON! Bob Turkson, you little brat." She walked over by a fruit stand.

"I know, I'm just doing that for old time's sake. But I'm also…" She threw a tomato at him. "Not going anywhere without a fight. So if you're going to arrest me for no reason, then you're gonna expect me to fight back." Some people backed off and were watching eagerly.

"After you get convicted, you're gonna be paying double!" He charged at her and she jumped over him just before he was at the food stand.

'Note to self. Not too many stupid stunts. I still have a limit.'

He was covered in tomato juice and he was absolutely furious.

"Huh, Y'know, I turned over a new leaf over the years. You are still as slow as ever. And I still got it in me."

"Hold still and fight like a man!"

"Alright, you asked for it." Teal put up her fists and the cop pulled out his bat.

"Your move." She said. The cop ran at her and hit her with his bat and she dropped to the ground.

"This time, I win." He laughed. Teal kicked his legs, knocking him down and she jumped up.

"Geez, you never learn, do you? And you have to work on your aim." When he stood up, he swung at her again. She blocked and dodged them then spun around and kicked him hard in the stomach.

He didn't go down this time but he was winded. Teal sent him a small distance away.

"Care to surrender?"

"No. This time, I will not be embarrassed by such an annoyance." He panted.

"Well, you don't need any help from me."

"That's right. Wait… Darn it!" He charged at her again and grabbed her arm and bent it back. She turned around, kicked his helmet downward as hard as she could and it covered his eyes. He let go of her arm and his bat. Teal used the bat to hit him on the head like a bell. He fell to the ground again.

"Yeah, now would be a good time to walk away."

"Never. If I go down, you're coming with me." Teal climbed on to a tarp above a poultry shop.

"Alright, do your worst." He was so dizzy that he started to act like a drunk. He swung at everything he could see and was far away from Teal. He hit a large woman and she started to beat him black and blue and chased him down the street.

Teal counted how many people watched them fight and there weren't that many people other than the vendors.

"My work here is done." She said as she jumped off.

'I wonder where Erin and Shishou are. I'd better check to see if Jasdero and Devitto are still at the far end of town. Just in case.'

"Teal!" Someone called out to her. She was about to pull out her map and she looked around but no one that she knew was around.

"Teal!" That voice just glomped her and almost knocked her down. "Guess who?"

"Erin?" She smiled. Erin got off her back and Teal turned around. It was her friend. Erin was about the same height as Teal. She had red hair and wore a short violet dress

"Erin… I missed you so much!" Teal gave her a hug and they headed towards the main market area. "Hey, you grew your hair longer! I almost didn't recognize you. Although I really should since…"

"Ah-ah. A lady never reveals her secrets. Although, I should say you're the one who can't be recognized. You've went through a growth spurt and you've changed your hair. But you still wear guy's clothing. Isn't that ironic?" Erin smiled.

"Okay, I admit, I'm being cheap. And I find it easier to fight in pants. Or short dresses work too. So what's your excuse? Don't you dare say that you're being cheap. I already took that." Teal put her arms behind her head.

"I like looking this way, that's all there is to it."

"Heh, you haven't changed a bit. So what brings you here?"

"Yoshi picked up your scent a while ago. And it was still pretty strong which means you're nearby. So we thought we'd stay for a while. You?"

Teal froze. She couldn't tell Erin that she was kidnapped. "Um… Well I kind of got a big job that requires a lot of travelling. And I'm stu… staying here for a while."

"How's you're odd-job service coming along? You have any offers here yet? Oh! And where are you staying? If you're living in a tent in a crappy countryside again, I'm gonna shoot you. You deserve better than that." She narrowed her eyes at Teal.

"No. I haven't been in town much. I am staying in the countryside but I'm not living in a tent. Is business booming here?"

"Yeah. A lot of places are hiring for higher wages if you're interested."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea." 'If I can get a part time job here, I can train my arms and legs. If there's a job that's REALLY weird, Innocence might be near.'

"Alright, slowpoke. Let's hurry then we can go meet Shishou." Erin grabbed Teal's arm and they ran to the advertisement board.

"Let's see… Ah! There's an odd job service logo! Put your flyer up!"

"Wow, you really are energetic today. I wonder what delivery birds they use. I hope that none of them are part loud mouth part parrot."

"Beats me." Erin shrugged. There was an explosion somewhere in town. It wasn't near Teal and Erin but it was very loud. Teal slightly opened her map to see what was in that area. Devitto and Jasdero were in the area where the explosion just occurred.

"What is that thing?!" Some people were shrieking. A giant white akuma could be seen from this part of town. It looked like a mix between a giant tiger and a shark and its eyes were glowing an eerie red color. Faint red balls of fire were seen and it was hardly affecting the akuma.

"Jasdevi…" Teal whispered. She spotted a black smith nearby and he was watching the akuma while panicking.

"Hey!" Teal ran up to him. "You have a katana by any chance? I'll pay you back later."

"You're not gonna fight that thing are you?" He handed her a katana in a black case. "If you can come back in one piece, I'll give it to you for free." Teal nodded and ran towards the north sector of the town.

"Teal! Hold up! We have to get out of here!" Erin held her back.

"Erin, my friends are over there and they're gonna need help."

"Fine. But I'll go with you. That monster looks like it's near the cliff and you'll get lost easily."

* * *

"Red Bomb!" Jasdero and Devitto fired two fire balls at the akuma but used its tail to send it back.

"White Bomb!" The fireball disappeared and the twins were exhausted. "If we can't get rid of this akuma soon, we're in deep doo-doo." Jasdero panted. The akuma went berserk for no reason at all and it started attacking indiscriminately and ignored the Noah's orders. Jasdevi knew that if this went on too long, the people would start to wonder about this and the Clan would be exposed sooner or later.

"Too bad we can't just shoot each other and combine. There are too many people watching." Devitto glared at the bystanders who were watching them fight. There wasn't many but they couldn't risk exposing the Clan of Noah to the civilians.

"Whoa, this thing is bigger than I thought." Erin said. They were on a higher cliff than the akuma, Devitto and Jasdero. The bystanders were on the higher cliff as well.

"Erin, get those people to safety. As for me…" Teal slipped on a small mask on her face. "I'll handle the rest." She unsheathed her sword and jumped off the cliff. She landed on the akuma's spiky back and moved closer to the neck that was armored.

"Take this!" She stabbed the akuma in the scruff. She hit it in the wrong spot and it didn't paralyze it. It stood up and it's hind legs and roared. Teal was thrown off and landed on her back. Her sword landed right next to her and it was sticking out of the ground.

'Plan B… I need a Plan B…'

"Oi! What're you doing here, Teal?" Devitto asked her. "Get out of here! We can handle this!"

"You guys didn't honestly think that I'd let you have all the fun, did you?" The akuma swung its claw at them, they all jumped to dodge it. "So what's going on with this akuma?"

"It's gone berserk. It won't listen to us anymore and if this gets out of control, it could expose us!" Jasdero said. Teal landed on a branch and Jasdevi landed under her.

"Just stay there, Teal! We can handle this!" Devitto shouted to her.

"Not a chance! Innocence or no Innocence, it's my job to get rid of akuma!"

"Inno…cence… Must capture and destroy Innocence!" The akuma roared.

"Oh boy… At least it remembered its primary function." Teal said to herself. 'I'm still live bait!'

The akuma swung its claw and destroyed the tree. Teal jumped on the arm, jumped towards the unarmored chest where the 'face' was and gave three large slashes. It gave some damage to it but it wasn't even close to coming down.

Teal's arms and legs gave a sharp pain. It felt like she was close to her limit and she couldn't move for a minute.

'Damn… That akuma isn't even close to defeat and I might be near my limit.' Tags with kanji on it started to circle the akuma. It started to make it shrink so it was small enough for it to be attacked at a short range. Teal looked up to the higher cliff and Erin had two fans in hand and she was moving them as if she was controlling something.

'I didn't know Erin knew magic. I don't think Shishou taught him any.'

"Alright, I think that should make things easier on you guys." Erin smiled. She crossed her fans and was waiting for it to move. Devitto and Jasdero ran up to the akuma and were ready to shoot it.

"Thanks Erin!" Teal shouted. The moment she regained use of her legs, she ran up to join Jasdevi.

"Blue Bomb!" They shot its four legs and Teal attacked its chest. She slashed it five times and it retaliated by shooting her from the spikes on its back. She was blown back and Devitto broke her fall.

"You alright, Devitto?" Teal was shot in her side and pentacles started to appear for a moment then vanished. 'My healing powers can still repel the virus. But it's not enough to heal my wound quickly.'

"You should be more worried about yourself." He had a slightly cold tone in his voice. He stood up and went back to the akuma. When Teal removed her hand from her side, it was covered in blood and the vision came back and everything was covered in blood. Her friends were gone and the Deceiver was standing in front of her. Her eyes were wide and she covered her ears. 'Stop… Please… I have to continue fighting.' She collapsed to her knees and couldn't do anything except wait until the vision had passed.

There was an earthquake and the akuma was knocked to the ground.

"What just happened?" Jasdero asked.

"Who cares? Now's our chance!" There was another earthquake and a fissure had opened under Devitto and Jasdero. Devitto was the first to fall and he grabbed Jasdero's hands and Jasdero was almost in the hole.

'Oh no!' Teal ran to them as fast as she could and grabbed on to Jasdero's leg. She was on her stomach trying to anchor herself but she was being dragged in and was almost over the edge.

"Pull us up!" Jasdevi shouted. Teal couldn't move her arms or legs.

"Erin! Help me!" Erin had disappeared from the cliff. She was on her own and she couldn't use anything to boost her strength.

'Somebody! Anything or anybody! Help me! I don't want to lose them again!' Her arms started to glow and she could feel that pressure around her legs was relieving.

"Ouch! Teal what's going on? That really hurts!" Jasdero nearly let go of Devitto causing to Devitto hang on to his hair.

"Hey! I'm running out of things to hang on to here!" The pressure around her arms and legs was coming back. Teal held on tighter. 'I don't want to lose them. I have to protect them!' She moved her leg back and she noticed it was easier to move them.

'My Innocence? I'm losing power. I have to hurry.'

"Convert!" She cried. The marks on her arms formed faint ribbons and merged with her legs to make it more effective. There were rings around her ankles and the ends of the ribbons were digging into the ground. She kept on moving backward and slowly pulled Jasdero out. Her Innocence gave out and reverted to marks around her arms and legs.

Devitto was clinging on to the edge and the fissure was closing. Teal grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up but it was no use. Jasdero grabbed his other arm and they pulled him out right before the fissure closed.

"Geez. That was close." Devitto panted. "Good thing that akuma fell. It saves us the trouble of landing on our butts trying to destroy the stupid thing."

"Actually, we did that already." Jasdero said hoarsely.

"I'll say. You two aren't half bad." Erin appeared out of nowhere and was standing in front of them.

"What did you just say?" They shouted. "Like you could do any better, girly!"

"Why, thank you." Erin smiled. She still had her fans in hand.

"Erin! Are you alright?" Teal put her sword in its case and walked towards Erin. "You disappeared and I thought that… thing got you."

"Hold up, you know each other?!" Devitto and Jasdero were annoyed and had little patience for surprises.

"Uh-huh. Oi vey, might as well get this over and done with." Teal was almost at her limit and was about to collapse any time.

"Okay… Erin this is Devitto and Jasdero. Jasdero and Devitto, this is Erin." She said it as fast as she could. "Erin is my friend from Shishou's and I'm staying with Devitto and Jasdero. Also…"

"Teal-chan…" Erin whispered in Japanese. Shishou had taught them both Japanese and it was a code language between them. "Remember a lady never reveals her deepest darkest secret until the right moment. I think they should figure it out."

"Also?" Devitto leaned forward a bit.

"Uh… Never mind. I just lost my train of thought." Teal laughed.

"Well, we have to get going." Jasdero said.

"See ya later! It's was nice to meet you! Teal, you should…"

"Erin. I have to go back too." She cut her friend off. She knew that an akuma going berserk was something to report to the Earl. She wasn't on the Noah's side so she had no reason to report to him. Still, she would be in trouble if she didn't go back with them.

"I'll come back soon. Promise."

"Alright, wrap it up." Devitto put his hand on her head and he was leading her down the path.

"Would it kill you to not drag me this quickly? I'm near my limit." Teal said as she was walking backwards while Devitto was still leading her.

"Okay. Once you stop doing the opposite of what you're told. That's what's really annoying about you. And you wouldn't be at you limit if you didn't activate your Innocence, idiot." He grumbled.

"One: I neither do what I'm told nor do the opposite. I just do whatever. Not always the best idea but it works for me. And two: I didn't activate it on my own."

"Hold up." Devitto and Jasdero stopped in their tracks. Teal's legs gave out and fell backwards.

"What do you mean you didn't activate it? Hee, look, we're not saying we're ungrateful that you helped us get out of there but you could've chosen a smarter thing to do. And my leg still kind of hurts because of it!" Jasdero said.

"It kind of activated on its own. I had no intentions of activating it at first but it reacted to my emotions and it was the only thing I could use."

"Wait, equipment types don't react to emotions. Only parasite types do." Devitto said. He turned to his brother and he shared the same confused and curious look.

"I'm serious! I thought that if I forced it to activate, there is a chance that it could kill me so that's why I didn't use it. It honestly activated on its own when I was thinking about…" Teal turned red. It felt a little embarrassing telling them how she felt.

"Alright. We get it." They said together.

"I feel stupid for asking this but can one of you carry me back please? I can't move my legs at all."

"Alright. You owe us big time." Devitto lifted her on his back. "Don't be expecting me to carry you all the way back. It'll be a short trip."

"How? It takes me almost an hour to get to town. I doubt that's not what you define as 'short'."

"How any times did that akuma hit you on your head?" Devitto was annoyed. "We're using the ark."

"Oh yeah. You have a new ark." Teal shivered as the gate came out of nowhere.

'Relax. It's probably just like the white ark. Relax.' When they went through, it was pitch black and she was afraid. She clung tighter to Devitto's jacket and hid her face like a small child. Within a few minutes, they were inside the Noah mansion.

"We're here. You can get off now, can't you?" Devitto said. Teal didn't respond.

"Hey. You still alive back there?"

"Yeah." She said weakly. Devitto bent down and she slid off his back.

"You go on ahead Jasdero, we'll catch up." Devitto turned to his brother.

"Wait, I'm coming with you to talk to the Earl?" Teal was really uneasy.

"Yeah. Don't know why, but I've got a feeling that he's gonna want to talk to you about your Innocence. Also, why were you hanging on to me for dear life? Not scared of the ark were you?" Devitto was half joking.

"Um… I'm alright. Really. I'm not scared of the ark, I just… Never mind."

"What?" He stood in front of her and prevented her from getting anywhere. "I'm not letting you go anywhere unless you start talking."

"Why? I didn't do anything."

"You're pushing yourself too hard and it seems like you don't care about what happens to you. What really pisses me off is that you don't allow us to help you when you need it."

"I don't know what you're talking about Devitto. Other than the Innocence issue, I'm fine." 'That's a lie. I'm not fine.'

"I don't believe you. You almost always push yourself to the brink of death and yet you can say 'You're fine'?! That is bull and you know it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said again.

"You little…" Her cornered her and slammed his hands against the walls so she couldn't get away. "Stop lying! If you're not careful, you can really lose your life. What really pisses me off is that you don't care nor do you let anyone help you."

"… I do care about what happens to me. There, now can I leave?"

"Nope. You still haven't said why you won't accept help from us."

"You won't understand."

"Oh yeah? Try me."

"I just don't like to accept others for help. There have been a few times I have and it did nothing… Hey! Are you even listening!?" He hung his head and looked like he was asleep.

'There's part of me that's telling me to draw on his face… Then the other part is telling me to wait until I can fight back. Know what? Screw it. I don't think he's gonna notice since he has so much makeup on already.' She reached in her bag for her black marker.

"Try it and you die, you stupid girl."

"I'd like to see you live up to that threat for once."

"You have a death wish or something?!" Devitto punched the wall beside her.

"Now I don't. I've got something to do, so you can go without me." She moved Devitto's arm so she could leave.

"Don't tell me you're ditching!"

"I've got something to do. You're not gonna get more out of me."

------------

Later…

'The library here isn't much better than the Order. However, I did find out that the key to some curses is bonds. It doesn't explain much more than that. How do bonds affect curses?' She was sitting on the balcony railing, reading a book about something that might help her.

"So this is where you've been hiding. I'd figure you'd be up a little higher." Jasdero said.

"I would but since I'm past my limit, I can't climb right now." Jasdero joined her on the railing and sat on the opposite end.

"Why don't you let us help you when something's bothering you?"

"You're starting to sound like Devitto." Teal closed her book.

"Put us together…"

"And you're Jasdevi, one person. Yeah, I got it."

"Don't steal our line!" Jasdero pulled out his gun on her.

"Okay, okay. Put when you use it a million times, other people know it off hand." 'Sheesh. I thought girls were the only ones with hormones.'

"Heh, that still doesn't answer my question." He sat on the railing beside her. His mood changed in an instant. "Put it this way: You helped us and we're trying to pay you back. And believe me, this is like an once-in-a-lifetime chance 'cause we don't do that very often."

"I appreciate the effort but I don't need help."

"I know you still don't like being here but we, Devitto and me, want to help. As friends. Please?"

"I just… I don't usually… Like to ask for help." She cringed as the nightmare vision flashed before her eyes. She started to shake uncontrollably as the vision was haunting her longer than usual.

"Teal, what's wrong?"

-------------------

"You're finally awake." Jasdevi was sitting beside her on a bed. Teal's vision was slightly out of focus and she couldn't tell what room she was in.

"You might not want to sit up too much, you'll hit you're head. Then again, I don't think your brain damage could be any worse." He laughed.

"Mnn. What happened?" She groaned. She couldn't remember anything except the vision.

"You tell me. You passed out on the balcony because you looked like you had an attack or something. Now I you can't say that you're okay."

"It… It wasn't an attack. I think. It was something else." Teal slowly sat up. The ceiling was very low and she figured she was in Jasdevi's room again. "But I guess you're right. I can't say nothing is wrong with me. I've been seeing things lately. Not my normal random visions, it's more like a nightmare."

"Oh. How long has this been going on?"

"A while. I've had at least one almost everyday and no matter how many times I see it, it scares me. You may or may not believe this but I'm still not really used to being around people and I don't know how to ask because I think that they will think that I'm too weak or too stupid."

"You're not weak or THAT stupid. You are kind of stupid but anyway, every person would feel that way at one point or another. We really do care about you and we do want to help you. Isn't that what friends do?"

Teal's eyes widened and she blushed a bit as if she heard that word for the first time. "I guess. So if I gradually tell you stuff, do you promise to keep it to yourself or yourselves? I mean it, you can not tell anybody else, not even the Earl."

"Well… I can't really promise that. I am kind of a blabber mouth."

"Y'know, once I can move my arms and legs fully, I'll make sure we have an agreement." Teal put her fist against her hand.

"Alright, fair enough. I swear won't tell anyone. I'll save you the embarrassment of getting your ass kicked by us."

"I'd say something 'bout that but I'm too freakin' tired to do anything. Do I have your word on it?"

"Yes. I can do that."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Can I ask a favor? Can I stay with you tonight? I think that when you're around, the visions don't come as often." That was the easiest way she could say it. Jasdevi simply nodded.

"Alright. But no murdering me in my sleep otherwise I'll kill you!"

"Hmm. Same goes for you. Night." She rolled over and faced the wall. After a while, Jasdevi embraced her and drew her closer to him. She was a little startled at first but accepted it and fell asleep in his arms.

Xxxxxxxx

Okay, I've made some major changes with this chapter. I'm so happy with this one because they're finally starting to have a relationship. Okay, I'm gonna give a slight spoiler for the next chapter and most likely it's gonna be long since I still want to get to the part where she does finally become a Noah. (Yes she will become a Noah eventually) And I want to add the recent manga events in here as well. So next chapter, there's gonna be Innocence involved, Shishou and Jasdevi meet (The classic parent meets the daughter's guy friend(s)) and a ball with an unexpected reunion. So I will get that up ASAP.


	20. Things Will Get Crazy

Things Will Get Crazy

"Good morning everyone, I trust you all slept well.~" The Earl said in his usual cheerful tone at breakfast. He summoned everyone, including Teal to gather for breakfast.

`I guess this is step one to gaining their trust. However lame it may seem.'

"So there's a few reason why I wanted a family breakfast this morning.~" The Noah that were present were Tyki, Sheryl, Jasdevi, Road and Lulubell.

"Does it have to do with anything starting with an `H'?" Jasdero moaned.

"Jasdero, why must you and Devitto always complain when you're helping with Road's homework?" Sheryl sighed.

"Because it's a stupid chore that we don't want to do and her teacher doesn't accept all 5's in the blanks."

"That's the last mistake I'll ever make, asking you two for help. At least I still got you Lulubell and Teal." Road smiled at them.

"Road, why don't you ever rely on your father?" Sheryl said.

"Sorry, Road. I don't have much of an education so I'm afraid I can't help." Lulubell said.

"And I dibs out too. I didn't get to those subjects before I started living on my own so I can't help." Teal said quickly.

"I wasn't going to say that everyone.~ But I see that none of you can help anymore. So in a week and a half, we will be attending a ball.~"

"Lord Millennium, what happened to `no more' from last time?" Devitto said.

"And the time before that, you said `no more'" Jasdero continued.

"I don't recall saying that. But boys, we need good relationship with nobles for the cause for our side. Need I remind you of your role?"

"No." They said monotonically.

"But this time, we can also interact with nobles with sons as well." Sheryl looked at Teal.

"Eh? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Well, since you're with us now, we'd like you to attend this ball."

"Eh?!" 'This is really going overboard.'

"Ha ha. You have to suffer like the rest of us." Devitto said.

"Moving on everyone~" The Earl cut off their conversation. "The Order has gained an upper hand. They've recruited exorcists that don't have Innocence but they are able to defeat high leveled akuma. Not much is known about it but I'd advise you all keep your ears sharp."

After breakfast, all of the Noah lingered around for a while in a living room instead of leaving directly for missions. Some akuma servants were bringing in a mountain of mail. Most of it was for the Earl, Sheryl received a hand full of invitation RSVP's and Teal received one but it was already opened because the akuma checked it.

"Huh, you got one? Did you tell someone where you were staying?" Tyki asked suspicously.

"No. I have a part time job. Looks like a delivery bird dropped this off earlier. So I'll see ya later."

"Hold it. I want you to have ediquitte lessons." Sheryl said.

"I just have to make a delivery. I won't be that long."

"Sorry, but we need you at this ball and you can do your job later. Lulubell and I will be your mentors for today." Teal's head sank. She heard Jasdevi snigger behind her. She threw a dagger glare to make them shut up.

--------------

"Alright, first off we will work on your posture." Sheryl and Lulubell were in the library with Teal. Lulubell just sat at a table and wasn't paying any attention to them. Sheryl walked around Teal for a minute then stood in front of her.

"Well... You're posture's not bad but you need to keep it perfect for a long period of time. To do that, you're going to do a balancing exercise."

'Hmm... This kinda sounds familiar.' Teal heard a woman's voice speaking to her. She turned her head to the bookshelves if the woman was right over there because her voice sounded like it was coming from there.

"As the eldest child, ballet is one of the most important things to know in society. First off, you must have perfect posture and balance."

The door to the library opened then slammed shut. It was Devitto and Jasdero.

"Oh, Jasdevi. I don't need you to be her dance partner yet."

"Say what?" Teal snapped out of her vision.

"Dancing is the main part of balls."

"I got that. I was just uh..."

"Somebody wasn't paying attention." Jasdevi said together in a sing-songy voice.

"Yeah. That." 'This is really awkward.'

"Well, if you two aren't gonna be any help, I'd prefer you leave us."

"Get security to make us leave." Devitto pointed at Lulubell. She just gave them a cold icy glare and did nothing.

"Okay. We'll stay here and watch." Devitto grinned. He and Jasdero sat on different ladders.

"Alright, let's get started. The sooner we get through this, the sooner you can go to work."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Teal put her arms behind her head. "So what do I have to do?"

"It's easy. Balance this book," Sheryl place a heavy dictionary on her head. "While walking and you must have perfect posture."

'Oh joy. I thought it was hard enough with my Innocence and this is not helping.' She kept on walking backwards and forwards trying to balance the book and trying to stay on her feet.

"You're balancing the book well but try walking in a straight line and don't bend when you balance." Sheryl advised.

'Okay. Think about the five mentors. The one that teaches balance and grace is... The crane. Right.'

Teal stretched her arms out and started to walk forward. The book was starting to wobble and her legs were starting to hurt.

'Ignore the pain. Just breathe through it and focus.' She fixed her eyes on one spot on the wall, she was oblivious to everything and continued to walk forward.

"The book's gonna fall!" Jasdero shouted. Teal stopped in her tracks and the book started to wobble again and it slid off her head. She caught it just before it landed on the floor.

"Not bad. You've made it half way but the point is to have perfect balance, not flexibility. Start again and we will stop when you can walk all the way there and back, with posture of course."

'I'm really not cut out for this.'

Sheryl made her do the same thing until late in the afternoon until she got it right. She kept on losing her balance, Jasdevi kept distracting her and a bunch of other things went wrong. As soon as the session was over, Teal grabbed her bag and armband instead of her entire uniform and headed to town.

-----------

'Thank godness that's over. That was rather embarassing. Why is it so difficult when I've been training for a while?' Teal took out her letter from her client. She had to go to the post office, get a package, then she had to go to her client's house to deliver it.

Problem was: She had no clue where either places were. Last time she was in town, she neither passed the post office or any residencies and she accidently left the map at the manor.

'Crap. They should have a tourist information at least. On the bright side, I will probably get a couple of hours to myself.'

"Teal!" Erin came out of nowhere at full speed and glomped Teal.

"What the hell was that for?! You nearly gave me heart failure!" She shouted as soon as she recovered from being tackled.

"Aw, you're no fun when you go black." Erin whined.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to snap. I've had a really long day and I'm not up for surprises. But I'm glad you're here. Can you help me find the post office and this residency? I don't know this town very well yet." Teal showed him her letter.

"Sure. I'll go with you. The post office is this way and the place you're going is not too far from the dojo,(I think) so we can go see Shishou afterwards."

As they were walking towards the post office, Teal noticed that there was some strange presence behind some of the stands. She couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from but it was pure and calming.

"Hold on Erin. I want to check something out." Teal changed her course, went in between the stands and tried to follow the presence.

"Teal, where are you going?" Erin was following her.

"There's something here. Can't you feel it?"

Erin closed her eyes and tried to sense the presence Teal was talking about. She could feel that calming presence but it was very faint.

"I can't really feel it. It's just an open field on the cliff."

"Then what's that?" Teal pointed to the distance and there was a sakura tree on the highest point of the cliff. The petals on the flowers were still in bloom and the few that fell could be seen blowing in the wind.

"That's weird. Sakura trees aren't really found here. They're found in Eastern China and Japan." They started to walk up the cliff and went by the tree.

"I've heard that this town has been widely used as a sanctuary for immigrants accross Europe and Asia. So it's possible that someone from this tree's motherland planted this tree here. But that doesn't explain why this tree is in full bloom when it's the middle of November."

"Yeah. I've never seen a sakura tree before so I can't say what it's life is like. And the blossoms are so beautiful." She smiled. 'Is this where the presence is coming from? It's stronger than it was before but it still feels weak.' A sakura blossom fell from the tree and landed on Teal's shoe. It was a healthy flower that simply lost its grip. Its bright pink hue and blood red outlining was captivating.

'I'll keep this one with me.'

"Earth to Teal, the sooner you get to work, the sooner we can see Shishou."

"Right." She placed the flower in the smallest pocket in her backpack. She backed up, ran passed Erin and started sliding down the cliff.

"Hey! You cheater!" Erin slid down the cliff after her.

"Sheesh! I thought you could do better than that, Erin." Teal called. She bent her knees and started leaning left to avoid Erin so she wouldn't throw her off balance.

"Not bad. But do you remember about the lesson of the snake?" Erin asked Teal as they were close enough to hear each other.

"The snake is... Speed, right?"

"Yep. And you need to use that lesson if you want to catch me." Erin leaned to the right down the steeper slope and Teal followed her. Teal started to move in an 's' formation to gain more speed. Teal was about to beat Erin to the bottom but she tripped over a rock and rolled down the rest of the way.

"You could've finished it without that. C'mon, let's go." It took them ten minutes to find the post office from where they were. After Teal picked up the package, Erin lead her to where one of the residency areas were and Teal was shocked to find out where she had to deliver the package.

"Erin, the place I'm supposed to drop it off is a noble residence!"

"Why are you so freaked out by it?"

"It's just that... I really feel out of place when I'm around nobles. I mean, I'm practially at the bottom of the social chain or whatever it's called and it makes me uneasy being around them."

"Why are you so worried about social differences now? It shouldn't matter that much."

"I know. Normally, I don't really care about that kind of stuff. But I'm kinda attending a ball and I'm really nervous about it."

"Oh yeah. A ball's coming up in about a week or so." Erin said as they arrived at a huge gate with iron bars.

"I'll be right back." Teal pulled the string that was by the gate.

"Who goes there?!" A loud voice came from above her.

"I'm an odd job worker and I have a delivery to make here." Teal showed her armband to the invisible guard above her.

"Alright. Make it quick." He growled. The gate creaked open and she moved down the path towards the mansion that was beyond the vast garden.

"Who is this filthy urchin?" A woman on the front porch screeched.

"I'm the odd job worker. Here's the package you requested."

"Why didn't you come this morning when you were supposed to?!" She glared at Teal. Teal cringed.

"Mother, that's enough." A gentle voice came from behind her. Teal turned and there was a handsome young man with short swept black hair behind her. His expression was soft and kind. His brown eyes widened slightly for a moment then returned to their kind gaze when he saw Teal.

"Thank you for the trouble. Here's your reward." He gave her some coins and placed them in her hand. Then he took the package in return.

"Have we met? You look familiar." He said.

"Nope. Don't recognize ya at all."

"Oh. Forgive me." He bowed.

"It's no big deal. Pleasure doing business with you." Teal said. As she was halfway down the path, she thought the boy was right behind her and said "Natalie". She stopped and looked back but he was back at the porch, giving the package to his mother.

'Who's Natalie?'

"Alright. Mission accomplished! Time to go to the dojo!" Erin grabbed Teal's arm and they went deeper into the woods that boardered the noble residencies.

"Shishou's friend had this dojo many years ago and Shishou reopened it recently. We have a couple of students every now and then."

"Hey, mind slowing down a little? My legs kinda hurt from that fall."

"Oh. Sorry." Erin chuckled. "Speaking of which, I think it might be smart if I lent you some clothes. Don't think you're friends would like it if you were extremely dirty like this."

"Uh... Well... I don't think it matters to them how dirty my clothes are."

"It does! Were you spending the past year with them?"

"No. I found them again about a month and a half ago. I don't see how that is important." They just arrived at the front of the dojo. Erin and Teal took their shoes off when they were on the deck.

"Wait, again?"

"Oh! Erin, you're back." A student came to the door to greet them. "And who are you?"

"I'm Teal. One of Shishou's apprentaces."

"Oh yes. You're his 'cute daughter' right? You're the only girl to be taught under him and you and Erin are his kids, am I right?"

"Heh, apparently." She laughed. 'He hasn't changed a bit.' Teal dropped her bag off at the door when they were inside.

"I'm Alexander, one of your master's apprentaces as well. He went to town and should be back soon. In the meantime, make yourselves at home."

Erin gave Teal one of her dresses and after she got changed, she followed Erin to a place to sit down.

"The living room's this way." There was a lounging area by them that had small cushions surrounding a table, a couple of book shelves on one side of the wall, and oriental lamps all over the place. On the other side of the room, there was a kitchen and another door that led outside.

"So what do you mean you met them again?" Erin sat down on one of the cushions around the table.

"Well..." Teal sat beside Erin and hesitated. "Remember the boys I was talking about when I was finally in my right mind? Devitto and Jasdero are those boys."

"So how come you had to separate? And what are they like?"

"That's not for me to say. But when I saw them again, we weren't exactly thrilled to see each other. When I came here a month ago, I couldn't stand them at first. But they're not bad once you get to know them. They're definately not the same boys that I rememeber, that's for sure." Teal smiled.

"I guess that's a good thing, right?"

"In most ways, yes. Although they may seem a little rough around the edges, they have some really good qualities about them that I admire."

"Ooh, you like them, eh?" Erin smiled mischieviously.

"Um... It's not like that..." 'It is a bit...' Teal blushed a little.

"I understand." Erin smiled.

Somebody opened the sliding door and it was Erin and Teal's master.

"Welcome back, Shishou." Erin said.

"Yes, welcome back. It's great to see you again, Shishou." Teal smiled. Last time she saw her master, he had a short beige ponytail and it was past his shoulders now.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is that my cute daughter?"

"Shishou..." Teal was a little annoyed.

"Why won't you call me 'father'?" He looked like he was about to cry. He used to do this all the time to Teal just to tease her.

"Shishou, I have a few reasons why I don't. Oh! I just remembered! Shishou, I recently found out that my parents might be alive."

"Oh, really?" He was no longer in his fake depressed state.

"Yeah. I was taken to live with my brother for safety sake, I think. Also, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He smiled.

"If I do find them, can I come back here?"

"Of course. You're always welcome here."

"Speaking of finding people, guess who Teal found recently." Erin said.

"I heard. Congratulations on finding your friends. Maybe you could ask them if they'd like to come with you next time you come here. I'd like to meet them."

"Um... Alright." 'Is this really necessary? The father meeting the daughter's guy friend(s)?'

"So Teal, where are you staying?" Shishou asked.

"I'm staying in the countryside with some people, including my friends. I'm not too happy right now 'cause they're making me go to a ball. Like one of the people I'm staying with is a noble and he's making everyone go."

"What's so bad about that?" Erin asked blankly. Teal rose from her seat.

"I'm freaking out about the social standings, I think they have to wear fancy stuff and I can't afford that kind of dress, I feel kind of uneasy with the social dance, should I go on?"

"Well, we can help you with some of that. If you want, I'll be your first dance partner at the ball. Would that make you feel a little better?" Erin stood beside her.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks."

"I could buy a dress for you if you're having money problems." Shishou said.

"No, I can pay for it if I get enough offers. I don't want to make you go to all that trouble."

"Well if you didn't want us to help, why did you complain?" Erin was really annoyed.

"I just had to get it off my chest." She sighed.

"Teal, will you be staying with us tonight? Your clothes are clean but they won't be dry until tommorrow." Alexander poked his head in the door.

'Shoot, what time is it?' Teal looked at the clock and it was 10:30.

"Ah! No, I'm sorry I can't. Erin, I'll give you your dress back later." She bowed to everyone and took her clothes from Alexander.

"You can keep that dress. It looks good on you." Erin said. Teal slipped on her shoes, waved goodbye and dashed out the door.

'Crap, I'm gonna be in BIG trouble.' She made it to the market but she had problems which way to go afterwards. 'Double crap. I'm lost, and it's really dark out. Then again, this isn't too bad. I used to stay up all night sometimes.'

The calming presence that she felt before was filling up the marketplace. She knew it was coming from the tree. She didn't have time to stop so she kept moving on.

'Okay... There's the notice board, the blacksmith, and the park should be up ahead. Hold on...' There were some envelopes attached to the notice board and she went up to see if there was any weird jobs.

'Let's see... An investigation job, a chimney sweeping job, and hello, what the heck?' There was an envelope saying 'Please help me! I'm not myself!' In huge smudged letters on the envelope.

'I'll take this with me.'

There was a new moon tonight and it was too cloudy to see enough stars to navigate back to the woods.

'If I remember correctly, the shoreline here should connect with the shoreline to the lake. I can take the forest path from there when there's not much room to walk on the shore.'

---------

It took her half an hour to get back to the manor. When she arrived at the lakeside, she threw her cold clothes on the ledge so she could put her stockings back on since she walked on the shore bare foot.

"Hey! Freeze or I'll kill you!" Devitto's voice came from behind her.

"I'm already freezing so you don't need to make any threats." Teal said calmly. Devitto appeared out of the shadows.

"So you're back after that one delivery that should've taken you ten minutes. So who was the bum that gave you the dress as payment?"

"Shut it. You know I don't know the town very well and Erin was the one who gave me this dress."

"All right. I hope you're not wearing that to the ball. It's too short."

"You just had to remind me..." She grumbled.

"Would it kill you to relax?" He placed his hand on her head.

"It might..."

"Okay... How am I gonna put this in a language you'll understand? Put it this way: you know the lesson of yin and bang?"

"Actually, it's yang." Teal corrected him. "But yeah, I know it pretty well."

"Well, you're too much yang and that's not really good. You need a little more yin and that way, your stress level should be down."

"Okay. Despite of trying to make a speech about something you don't know much about, I think I see your point." She gave a small smile. She stood up and faced the lake. "After what's happened recently, that's easier said than done. And to top it off, I'm trying to recover my memories from when I was younger."

"I think you already did that part when you were messing with our heads."

"No, memories that were from before I met you. I didn't exactly live the life with my brother as I told you. I might've stayed with him a little less than a year and I don't remember much from it except being in a room all the time and the day he died."

"Well," He leaned against the high ledge beside Teal. "Just do what you did before with me and Jasdero. Remember what you did?"

"No, not exactly. What helped restore our memories was that I had something to hang on to. This time, I have nothing. However, they're coming back a little. Like when Sheryl made me do that stupid exercise, I kind of did the same thing because of a dance lesson or something."

"Well in that case," Devitto offered his hand. "May I have this dance, Princess? No one's watching."

"I don't know how to dance, I only saw the memory when I was doing that stupid exercise. And don't call me that!" She clenched her fists.

"Then allow me to be your mentor, Shorty."

"Alright." She blushed a little and accepted his hand. He put his left hand on her waist and took her left hand in his.

"Before you start complaining, this is how people start the waltz. Place your left hand either on my shoulder or my arm, whichever works." Teal moved her right arm and Devitto stopped her.

"Other left." She shifted the her left arm on his arm. "Alright, it's simple. You follow my lead. Just try not to step on my foot." He took back a step and she followed. Everytime he took a step back, he swayed for a moment then took another step to the side and repeated the same motion.

"See you're dancing." They were swaying in synch to the movement of the soft waves behind them.

"Uh... Yeah. It is a little weird."

"Heh, well believe it or not, I wanted to spare you the dance lesson from hell from you know who."

"Well, either way, I'm playing hooky tommorrow." Teal went back to her bag.

"Oh? And what is the occasion?"

"On the way back, I picked up a job letter and it is... huge." Teal paused as she was searching through her bag.

"What?" She turned to Devitto and she was holding a red tulip. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Keep your voice down!" She hissed while covering his mouth.

"Look, it's no big deal. If anyone should freak out, it should be me. I hate tulips!"

"You really don't know what this means?" He scoffed.

"Despite of being raised by wolves, no I don't." She said blankly.

"Flowers are a way to tell someone they love you. That was so hard to figure out." He said sarcastically.

"Eh? Really?" Devitto nodded. "Well, If I ever choose to be in a relationship, I prefer someone I know." She lit a match and burned the flower.

"If you can find someone who has just as many or more brains as you, I'm sure it'll be a perfect match." He smirked.

"Oh ha ha. Aren't you a riot?" She used a spell to create a cricket and it went 'chirp chirp Quack MOOOOO' then turned into sand. Devitto snorted and started laughing.

"I know I suck at transforming things but you don't have to laugh..." Her head sank.

"You would laugh too if you saw your face." Teal blushed and turned her head.

"Well, we should be going inside now." Teal said impatiently.

"You're kinda cute when you act like this." She stopped in her tracks and slightly turned to Devitto. The shadows hid her emotions and she saw he was actually smiling. Not his famous 'up to no good' smile but a true genuine smile.

"Eh?" That was all Teal could say.

"It's nothing. Night, Teal."

"Night, Devitto." She said casually. She heard him gasp and he looked like he was about to collapse.

"Devitto?" She ran over to him and he was on his knees. He looked like he was about to pass out. "Devitto! Hey!" She shouted as loud as she could. "Any akuma on guard or something?"

"No, I'm alright." Devitto sat himself up.

"But you're..."

"Really, I'm fine, don't worry about it." He was slightly irritated.

"Sorry, I just... um... It's just that you and Jasdero have done a lot for me and I'm trying to... y'know... return the favor? As a way of saying thank you." She dug her foot into the damp sand.

"Actually, I think there is something you can do to thank me. Hold still." Before Teal knew it, Devitto gently pulled her closer to him and their lips were pressed against each other.

Devitto wasn't even thinking about what he was doing. Something was drawing him to Teal and it just happened. Once Devitto embraced her, Teal knew that she was over stepping her boundaries. She knew this was wrong yet she didn't protest. His touch was warm compared to her cold body. It was a sort of warmth she never experienced before and it was drawing her closer to him. Everything about him was alluring, she was now the prey and if she didn't do something now, the trap would shut.

After about a few seconds, Devitto pulled away and he had a smirk on his face. Teal looked at him with slight shock to hide what she was really feeling.

"So how's that for romantic?" He asked slyly.

"Perverted is more like it! I didn't even ask for it!" She was turning red and tried to act as angry as possible.

"I know you liked it."

"Did not." She said monotonically.

"Did too. You're so easy to read. You act like you don't care but you do."

"Y'know what? Arguing with you makes me reach my limit faster so I'm ending it here. Night." When she was a few steps away, she gave a sigh and smiled.

"Right on the mark." She muttered.

When Teal returned to her room, she leaned against her door and let herself fall.

'Omigod! Devitto is so daring!' She giggled. 'I feel a little angry about it but still... That was... amazing.' She closed her eyes and tilted her head up.

'I don't know how many laws I'm breaking but... I'm starting to think it's worth it.'

-----------------

"Miss... Miss!" Something hit Teal on her head.

"Ow... Geez, what's with you, stupid akuma?" She snapped. 'For once I have a normal dream and somebody has to wake me up.'

"Master Sheryl is expecting you. You should hurry."

'I really REALLY don't want to get up. For once in a very long time, I have a normal dream. Well, despite me having perverted thoughts, I call any dream that isn't a vision normal.'

Teal changed into a long sleeve shirt, long pants and a bandana she bought the other day. She moved her hand on the dresser looking for her letter. Her blossom was on her letter and it closed its petals but it was still perfectly healthy.

'That's weird. Why would it close like that?'

"What 'cha got there?" Jasdero came out of nowhere. Teal let out a yelp.

"Damn it, don't sneak up on people like that!" She gasped. "So what can I do for you?"

"It's Devi!"

"What about him?"

"He's not... himself."

"One of his famous mood swings?" Teal suggested.

"No, it's worse. You think he's PMS-ing?" Jasdero asked.

"Mmm... No. Prob'ly not." 'I drew the line at female anatomy so I don't know.'

Jasdero slapped himself on the forehead and knocked off his antenna.

"Hee! I don't know what to do anymore! This is driving me nuts!" Teal slapped Jasdero on the cheek to snap him out of it.

"Dero, snap out of it! Pull yourself together!" Jasdero calmed down.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do to help." Teal said.

When Jasdero led Teal to the living room by the main hall, Teal noticed Devitto was sitting on the couch and reading a book. That was not the part that creeped her out the most, it was just the start.

Devitto was in human form, he was wearing a high collared white shirt with a tie and a vest, his untidy hair was more neat, and he wasn't wearing makeup.

"I think it's an improvement." Teal chuckled.

"Are you serious?! This is not my brother! He's... He's someone totally different! Insult him for crying out loud, that shouldn't be too hard." He tried to keep his voice down so Devitto wouldn't hear them.

"Well, don't judge it until you try it." Devitto was suddenly behind them and he was using a cheerful polite tone.

"See? Waaayy different." Jasdero pointed his thumb at Devitto.

"Morning Devitto. What's with the makeover?" Teal asked.

"I just wanted to try something different, no big deal. Why? You like it?"

"The tie I can live with. Turning into mini Tyki clone: you're in way over your head." She narrowed her eyes. 'Polite speech, fancy clothes, neat hair, no mischeiviousness = Tyki clone.'

"Is that the best you can come up with?" Jasdero whispered.

"I'm not that awake so yes."

"A... Tyki clone?" He had a hint of confusion in his voice as if he didn't know who Tyki was.

"Yeah, Stupid Tyki. The guy who's always annoying and dresses up fancy and blah blah blah. We don't need you to turn into him. It's just too freaky."

"Hey, Devitto, are you sure you're alright?" Teal asked. "Why'd you hesitate when you were saying Tyki's name?"

"Well..." Devitto hesitated. "I'm projecting on how to libel him." Teal and Jasdero blinked and looked at each other.

"Uh... Translation?" They asked at the same time.

"I'm trying to find a way to insult him, idiots. I mean, honestly, brother dearest, you should catch up on your studies. I propose that you'd catch up on your studies too, Teal. I admit that you're cute but I like girls who have some bit intelligence as well. You're much too wild and I for one, should think that studies should make you more tame and you might actually have a chance of finishing everything you've failed." Devitto folded his arms and gave a smug look.

"That's it, you just crossed the line, Smart Ass. I tried to do it the easy way but it looks like I'm gonna have to set you straight."

She rolled up her sleeves and was about to beat him up. She walked over to him and surprisingly picked him up by the collar a few inches off the ground and pinned him against the wall.

"You can make fun of my stupidity all you want but nobody, and I mean NOBODY tells me how to live my life and who they want me to be. What's more, don't you ever say that everything I've done was a failure. Got that?" She tightened her grip. Her expression was no longer mildly irritated but it turned into pure fury. Her eyes were a dark cold blue and were like a hunter about to kill.

"Teal, stop it! He's not in his right mind!" Jasdero held her from under her arms and tried to hold her back. Just before he pulled her away, she used her head to hit Devitto hard on the forehead which knocked him out. Then she managed to free herself from Jasdero's grip and slapped him on the cheek.

"Don't touch me!" She snarled. "You don't know... Huh?" Her tone dropped and she calmed down almost instantly. She had a confused and fearful expression as if she just came back from a nightmare. She backed away from Jasdero.

"I went black, didn't I?" She turned and Devitto was just recovering from her hit. 'No way... That vision... It made me go black. I thought it was finally going away.' Blood started to stain the walls and the furniture. Shadows consumed Devitto and Jasdero. She was terrified and ran down the hall as fast as she could without looking back. Jasdero looked in her direction and couldn't do anything.

"Uh... Jasdero?" Devitto was finally concious. "Mind explaining why the hell I'm wearing Tyki's old clothes? And what's with her?"

"Devi! You're back!" Jasdero gave him a tight hug.

"What do you mean 'back'?" He was extremely dizzy and was still trying to grasp the situation.

"Well... You were acting really strange and well... you said something to make her cry."

"Huh? I didn't do anything like that! Last night I remember being with her and she was pretending to be angry because I groped her..." Devitto muttered the last part.

"You did what?"

--------------

I decided to add on to this chapter 'cause I didn't really like it leaving where I left it before and I didn't like the scene where Devitto gave Teal a small kiss so I'm thinking 'Screw it, just be a man and kiss her already!'

I hope you guys like this chapter and Merry X-Mas if I don't get the next one up before then!


	21. Human

Human

'I made her cry? That doesn't sound right. Well, I would probably do that just to joke around but I don't think I would go that far.'

"Seriously, Jasdero, fill me in. I don't remember anything between now and last night." Devitto urged his brother.

"You were acting strange and we made fun of you but you had to be so smart and you made her cry. Well, she kind of snapped and I thought she was gonna kill you then next thing I knew, you made her cry."

"Heh, kill me? Right. What ever I did, I'm not to blame." He folded his arms.

"Ah-hem." Jasdero faked a cough.

"Okay. 98% not to blame."

"Keep going, hee!"

"Fine! 45%" They had a 'system' of who was more at fault when everything went wrong. Jasdero liked the number 5 so much that he claimed that he was 55% not at fault and the rest of the blame was stuck on Devitto. It's one of those things that only twins understand among each other.

"I'll catch up in a bit. I really, REALLY need to get out of these crappy clothes." Devitto went to their messy room upstairs and slammed the door behind them.

'Sheesh, I was probably kidding when I said whatever.' He tore off his shirt and fell back on the bottom bunk.

'It's only a mission. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as she doesn't break, we're doing our job. Although, I seriously wonder why I'm feeling this way. I shouldn't care. Yet...'

"Help me!" Teal was crying somewhere and Devitto shot up and covered his ears. 'It's just an illusion. Nothing's wrong. I can't help thinking that this is gonna happen. I don't want to lose her. Heh, when did that happen?' He lay down on the bed again. 'She was just another exorcist, another target. Now...'

"Why is this so difficult?"

"The closet is over there. You need my antenna?" Jasdero asked.

"Dude! What the...?" Devitto shot up and hit his head on the bunk.

"Nice." Jasdero laughed.

"Shut it." He growled. "Actually, can you do me a favor? Mind talking to her for me?"

"Uh... Why? Dero didn't do anything wrong. You should do it but I'll come along for moral support."

"Ah, dammit." He muttered as he was going through his drawers.

"What now?" Jasdero asked.

"My usual stuff is in the laundry." He was talking about his white shirt, his uneven black pants, boots etc.

"Oh yeah, I should've mentioned, you gave it to the maids to clean and they won't be back for a while."

"What? Are you freakin' kidding me?" He hung his head.

"There's more. You gave MY usual clothes to the maid too. Now I have to wear these. Although, it is a nice change. Hee!" Jasdero was wearing a long white shirt, brown pants and casual shoes to match.

"I might as well have been drunk." He said gloomily. He put on a black long sleeve shirt and a white t-shirt on top of it and a dark blue vest on. He was also wearing black pants with casual shoes.

"Ah, Devitto and Jasdero. Are you here for dancing lessons?" Sheryl asked.

"NO." They said at the same time.

"All the more reason to force you." Sheryl smiled and held out his hand like he was holding a wooden puppet but he was still far away from them.

"Get away from us you perverted sadist." Devitto said.

"By the way, have you seen Teal? She said something about she won't attend my lesson. Did something happen?"

"Uh...No." they said at the same time. 'Something did but we don't really get it.'

"What's that look for? If I didn't know any better, you don't know how to deal with girls." They both shot him a death glare.

"Sheesh, boys these days. I was just asking. But I was right on the mark, am I right?" They were gone.

"Okay... Where in town would she be?" They were standing in the middle of the marketplace where a sea of people went by them. They've been in town for a few hours and it was late in the afternoon.

"God only knows." Devitto sighed. "Let's get this over and done with. I HATE being in this form."

Ever since the ark, the Earl made the entire clan lie low. Most of the missions were just scouting for any traces of Innocence and interacting with other humans to eventually get them to side with the Earl. They were not allowed to fight unless it was necessary and they all had to be in human form when they were out in public.

Devitto and Jasdero occasionally forgot to change into human forms when they went out. But it didn't really matter most of the time because they don't go into very populated areas often and they don't really stand out in the crowd in their terms. They both had light tan colored skin and brown eyes. They kept their makeup on though.

"Tell me about it." Jasdero grumbled. "Although, it's not that bad, I guess."

"Excuse me, are you two from around here?" A voice came from behind them. They turned and there were two high school girls behind them. The girl that was talking to them had long red hair and green eyes. The other had short light brown hair, grey eyes and was giggling enthusiastically. They were wearing high school uniforms that were pink and black sailor like outfits. Black jacket, pink outlining, pink skirt, and black shoes and socks.

"What do you want?" Devitto asked with a cold tone in his voice. He felt extremely irritated because this girl looked like a female version of Cross.

"Ooh, they're so cool." The brown haired girl whispered to her friend.

"We were wondering if you could escort us to our homes." She said sweetly.

"Why the hell would we want to do that? We don't even know you!"

"Well... We took the commoner way just for fun and we got lost. You wouldn't mind helping us, would you?"

"Devi, she looks exactly like Cross." Jasdero whispered.

"I'll bet she acts like the bastard too. Why the hell are they acting like this?"

"It's because we look different today. Hee!"

"Hey~ What are you talking about?" The girl with the red hair grabbed Devitto by his arm and the other two girls were by Jasdero.

"C'mon let's get going." They all said at once while they tugged Devitto and Jasdero to go with them.

"Ugh, if we go, will you leave us alone?" Devitto groaned.

"Why, you in a hurry?" She laughed. "Ooh, look at this!" The two girls dragged the twins across the street to a small shop.

"Who knew commoners could make such cute things?" The red haired girl said.

"Let's book it." Devitto whispered to Jasdero. As they were slowly backing away, another voice called out to them.

"Ah! Young man, nice to see you again!" An old man was in a dark tent to their right and he looked like a fortune teller. "You in the black hair."

"Can it. We're trying to get away from these freaky girls."

"Ah, just as I have seen." He smiled. "Although, things didn't go the way exactly as I seen, my vision was more or less correct."

"What?" They both said at the same time. They entered the tent and went right next to the man.

"Listen, geezer. I've never seen you before and..."

"You were here yesterday. Remember the fortune I gave you?"

"Huh?" Devitto blinked.

"You will change. Whether bad or good, your luck with girls will increase."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

"That's what you said yesterday." He smiled. "But it was correct, was it not?"

"There you two are. C'mon, let's get going." The girls grabbed both of their arms and were about to drag them out of the tent.

"Oh boy. Here we go again." They said together.

"Wait, there's another thing!" Devitto and Jasdero looked at the man and he appeared to be sleeping. They thought they heard his voice.

"Find the treasure of the catacombs, and you'll find the first step of what you seek." The man continued. He was still motionless as the twins were being dragged away from him.

"Devi, did you hear that? How could he talk while he's asleep?"

"Beats me. Geezers are creepy old people who are an unsolved crime against nature. They freak me out."

"How much further?" The brown hair girl asked.

"Oh, not that far." Jasdero lied. They were on the outskirts of town and were slightly in the woods. There was a path in the forest that was clearly seen. He and Devitto were planning to ditch the girls and let them follow the path where ever it led to.

"Hey, look, there's a house over there! Maybe we could get directions from there."

"It's really nice. How oriental. Commoners must live here."

"Ugh, I've had enough of this! Let's just ditch the girls already!" Devitto clenched his fists.

"I agree. I had enough of them complaining and talking and everything. They're just so annoying."

"What are you two doing here?" Teal appeared out of nowhere and she was carrying a few bags of groceries. Her hair was tied back and with her bandana covering most of it, she looked like a boy.

"Teal?" Jasdevi said at the same time.

"Hey, nice clothes." She smiled.

"Shut it. We look horrible." Devitto said.

"Do you live here?" Teal's face froze when she saw the red haired girl. 'Why am I looking at a double of that womanizer?'

"Is something wrong?" The brown haired girl asked.

"No. I'm alright. My master lives here. Is there something you need?"

"Oh, you're the butler? We need directions." Teal twitched. 'Damn nobles.'

"To where?" Teal asked, hiding her irritation.

"Our homes. Have you gone past a residency?"

"Just keep following the path, there's a couple houses. Then ask for directions."

"Okay~ Thank you. By the way," They turned to Jasdevi. "Even though you two weren't able to get us there," they moved closer to them. "I think you two deserve something."

'Ah! Not in front of me!' Teal's face turned red. "Okay, keep moving! I'm sure you two ladies need to be at school soon otherwise your folks are gonna be ticked." Teal dropped her bags and started to push both girls towards the path.

"One more thing, are you two going to be at the ball?" The red haired girl turned her head. "My family's the host. I hope to see you two there." She and her friend waved.

"And are you serving at the ball as well?" She asked Teal.

"Yes. I'm security." She smiled. "Now you two better go."

"Damn nobles." Teal muttered after they were far away from them.

"Well~ What was that about?" Devitto smirked. Teal turned and her face was still a little red.

"I think somebody's jealous. Hee hee!" Jasdero was sharing the same smirk.

"Am not. I hate people rich people who are so full of themselves." She said quickly as she gathered her grocery bags.

"Yeah yeah." They said.

"Jealousy isn't your kind of thing, Teal." Erin came out of nowhere and startled Jasdevi.

"Make yourself useful." She thrust a few grocery bags at Erin just to make her shut up.

"Oh hey, you're Devitto and Jasdero. You look different somehow."

'Oh crap.' All three of them thought.

"Different? What makes you say that?" Teal smiled nervously.

"I got it. Your skin color was grey last time I saw you."

"They... cosplay! That's it! They like to cosplay and they often wear grey makeup." Teal said quickly.

"Okay, fair enough. So did you ask them if they'd like to stay for dinner?"

"Eh?" Teal dropped her bags.

"Is Teal cooking?" Jasdero said.

'They're not gonna let me forget it, will they?' Teal thought gloomily.

"No, Shishou is." Erin smiled.

"Okay, we'll come." Devitto said.

"Wait..." She said weakly.

"What? Scared that we're gonna embarrass you in front of your master? C'mon, we're not that bad." Devitto walked up to her.

"No. It's the other way around."

"Ooh, I wonder what dirt he's got on you." Jasdero jumped on Devitto's back.

"He's probably has nothing blackmail worthy if that's what you're after."

"But still... We want something to laugh about." Jasdero said.

"Isn't my lack of domestic skills enough?" They shook their heads.

"Okay, you two can stay. However, my master is..."

"Rawk! Get a room, idiots." Yoshi was in a tree by them. Teal's face turned red again, a mix of embarrassment and of annoyance. She thought about the kiss the other night and it was more of embarrassment now than anything.

"What is that?" Jasdero asked.

"Shishou's delivery bird. I wanted to get the monkey but it was two against one."

"Your master and your friend against you?" Jasdero asked.

"No, the bird and my master against me and Erin. Erin and I only had half a vote until we were fourteen. Don't ask it's a LONG story. I don't remember half of it."

As soon as they got on the deck, Jasdevi were about to go in and Teal held them back.

"What?" They asked.

"Shoes off. Dojo rules."

"Fine." They moaned. As they were taking their shoes off, Teal poked her head in.

"Shishou, you back? My friends are over." There was no answer. 'I guess not. Alexander's not even here.' She gestured Devitto and Jasdero to come in.

"Wow, it's really small." Devitto said.

"You two lived in a big place for a long time. Prob'ly seems small to you."

"Hey, we're not saying we don't like it." Devitto said as he found a big cushion chair in the living room and jumped into it.

"It must be nice to be home, huh?" Jasdero smiled at her.

"Yeah... I guess." She said as she was putting groceries in the kitchen and put some water in a kettle for tea. 'I haven't felt at home in a long time.' She sighed happily.

"Hey, Teal about earlier…" Devitto started.

"Hey, Teal is this one of your master's students with your friend? He kinda looks like you." Devitto leaned over to look at it. It was a picture of a slightly annoyed yet happy scruffy looking boy and Erin with bows and a dress.

"No, that's me. That was taken a few days after I quit my gang."

"Why would you want to look like a boy?" Jasdero asked.

"That's how I made most of my money. When my hair was long enough, I'd chop it off. I don't mind if I'm treated like a boy. Women don't have a lot of political rights anyway."

"And I don't think your friend and your master helped very much when you were trying to become a girl, right?"

"They did help some. But they weren't able to change me completely into a girl. Why? You think I need to be more feminine?" She grinned.

"YES." They said at the same time. 'Dang it, I wish I had a twin so I could annoy the hell out of these two when they do that.'

"I want to see you in more pretty dresses. Hee!"

"I wear dresses sometimes." She retorted.

"Uniforms and street fashion don't really count." Devitto said.

"How about this: If you two start wearing clothes like the ones you have on more often, I'll start wearing more dresses."

"And don't ever cut your hair again! It's pretty when it's long." Jasdero said.

"Well…" She blushed slightly. "I have to cut it once in a while 'cause it can be a little bothersome, getting in my face sometimes."

"I think that you have to do something really fancy with your hair and get a fancy dress for the ball." Jasdero said. "Not very fun."

'Oh crap. All this time and I forgot to get a decent dress. It'll take a miracle to find something decent enough and affordable.'

There was a loud whistle in the kitchen and Teal went to check to see if the kettle was done.

"I think you should let one of us handle that." Jasdero said.

"Oh, please guys. I'm not that bad when I'm in a kitchen. Huh, it's not even close to done. Must be the stupid bird." Teal muttered. She gave a small yelp when she accidentally placed her hand on the burner.

"You idiot." They said at the same time.

"Teal? Is that you? Are you alright?" Teal's father was standing in the doorway and Jasdevi turned their heads to him. He looked at them then looked at Teal in the kitchen and she was standing in the kitchen and she was shaking.

"What did you do to my little girl?" He growled as he glared at Devitto and Jasdero. They sank in their chairs.

"Shishou, please don't make a racket. They're with me." Teal said calmly as she dried off her hand.

"Then why did you scream?" He slid in the kitchen beside her.

"I didn't scream. I just burned my hand a little bit." She sighed.

"Don't scare your father like that." He hugged Teal. 'Ah great. NOW they have something blackmail worthy.'

"Shishou, we have company." Teal was trying to get him to let go.

"Why won't you call me Dad?" He slouched in a dark corner.

'Why me?' "Dad… We have guests." Teal pointed to Jasdevi.

"Oh yes." He stood up. "Sorry about that."

"So anyway, this is Devitto and Jasdero." Teal stood between Jasdevi. "Believe it or not, they're twins. You don't mind if they stay for a late lunch, do you Shishou?"

"Oh, no not at all. That is…" He gave them a very dark glare and made them sink in their chairs again. "That they won't do anything."

"Shishou, honestly, they aren't THAT bad." She laughed. "It's not like these two are the first guys I made friends with. Well… Technically they are but you know what I mean."

"I'm just teasing." He smiled. "How about you three go explore while you wait? I'll send Yoshi to go and find you after wards." He dismissed them approvingly.

"I'm really sorry that you had to see that." Teal said as they were leaving the dojo.

"See what?" Jasdero asked.

"Shishou doting on me. He tends to do that. Really annoys the heck out of me though."

"Oh? But you seemed to be enjoying it in some way." Devitto put his arms behind his head.

"It's so embarrassing. What about you two? Did you often get doted on?" She looked curiously at them. Jasdero stopped suddenly.

"Eh? Something wrong?" He was looking into the distance and he looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Heh, I dunno. Maybe that did happen at one point." Jasdero said as he stared off into the distance.

"Jasdero." Devitto's tone meant that he should drop it. "It doesn't matter."

"In a way… it does matter." Teal said as she gazed at the semi lunar cliff where the lighthouse stands tall and proud. "The feeling of being left behind and leaving someone behind, I know what that's like. It's one of the darker traits of human nature."

"Yeah, but after a while, you forget about it." Devitto scratched his head. "Are you saying you're scared when that time comes?" Devitto asked out of the blue.

"I am." Teal cringed as she uttered those two words.

'You can trust us, you know.' This isn't Teal's favourite or easiest topic to talk about. She had to talk to somebody, anybody that could somehow understand her. She couldn't say anything to her father because she didn't want him involved. It was maddening keeping everything to herself, unable to find some sort of comfort or relief. The three of them continued down the edge in silence.

'I guess it would make me feel a little better. And… I want to close the gap between us.' She caught a small glance of the bloody water down below and started walking a little closer to Jasdevi. Devitto's hand barely brushed against hers then everything disappeared.

Teal finally gathered her courage and broke the silence with what was on her mind.

"After all this time, I'm finally free of that woman. This is the first time I've truly felt like a human. Nothing's controlling me; my actions are from my will. However I've seen the darkness that surrounds her and I don't want to be in that same darkness. That's mostly why I snapped earlier, and I'm sorry about that. I know you weren't yourself but still, you saying something like that, it means everything was for nothing, and you see me nothing more than a puppet. And… I mean nothing to you. To anyone."

"Teal…" Jasdero gave her a tight hug.

"Ch-Choking, not breathing."

'To be a real human… I forgot how it felt. But just being with you two that helps me get an idea of what a real human is.'

A few days later… The Night of the Ball

'Ah great. Here comes my worst nightmare.' Devitto thought as he slouched over the balcony to the dance floor. He was extremely moody in the past couple of days up until today due to ball preparation. He didn't know what was worse, getting his tuxedo prepared or listening to Sheryl rant on and on for hours about the ball. 'Can't even breathe in this thing.' He fingered his bow tie trying to get it a little bit loose.

"Might as well get this over with. Hey, Devi, maybe we could end things with a bang. Then next time we aren't allowed to come!"

"Don't even think about it boys. We need to keep good relations with the nobles. To support our cause." Sheryl said as he was fixing his glove.

"Craaap." They said at the same time.

"At least we get to dance with some pretty girls. Hee!"

"Speaking of pretty girls, you know where Teal is? I thought she came with you and Road." Tyki turned his head to the twins.

"Uh… Dunno. She said something about running a last minute errand…"

"And she might've mentioned that maybe we should've told you that she'll meet up with us later." Devitto and Jasdero shrugged their shoulders.

"Good lord, that girl can be useless some days." Sheryl sighed. "Go downstairs now, all of you!"

'And the nightmare begins.' Devitto thought as he was walking behind Jasdero. 'In the very least, please, please, please PLEASE don't let me dance with that girl I met the other day.'

"Hi there~ Oh, I just knew you'd be here." The red haired girl sighed enthusiastically. "Oh, you look so much more handsome without your make-up!" She said as she grabbed Devitto's arm.

"Oi, oi, oi! What are you doing?"

"We're going to have the first dance, silly!" She giggled.

"Oh god." Devitto muttered. "Wait, I have to go… somewhere to do… a thing. Jasdero!" Devitto turned his head but he wasn't anywhere to be found.

"What are you sulking about? First dance with the host's daughter is an honour." A voice came from behind Devitto. It seemed faintly familiar but there was a boy who was shorter than him and his dark red hair tied back in a small tie.

"Do I know you?" Devitto raised an eyebrow.

"Is he a friend of yours? He looks very handsome. But not as handsome as you." The girl purred.

"I'll save introductions after your dance. Don't want to keep your partner waiting, do you?" He smiled. "Speaking of, I shouldn't keep mine waiting." He disappeared into the crowd. The girl led him to the center of the room, where everyone was keeping their anxious eyes on them.

'Oh god, oh god, oh god. I'm totally not used to this. Tyki's the one who should be doing this kind of thing. Then again, wouldn't that make him a pedo?' As soon as they heard the conductor tap his stand, Devitto and his partner automatically positioned themselves. As soon as the orchestra started, Devitto led the girl in a semi-graceful dance. He was taught try to please the girls as best as possible but he tends to do a half-ass job. His dance got approval nods and whispers in the very least.

"So, Devitto's got the first dance, eh?" Teal stood beside Erin and Shishou behind the crowd. "He's got guts." She chuckled.

"I know that you want to dance with him badly~" Erin grinned. Teal blushed furiously. "Sh-shut up." Teal had kind of been avoiding Devitto since that kiss and the way she acted towards him. Other than when Jasdero is with her and Devitto, she finds it somewhat difficult to be alone with him. She really did like him and Jasdero but she felt something more towards Devitto and it seemed awkward being around him.

"You two go on the floor as soon as other people are allowed. Present yourselves instead of acting as wall flowers." Shishou smiled.

"Shishou's right. Besides, you look beautiful, Teal. You should present yourself and dance with others."

"Okay. I should sooner or later." She looked down at her long light blue dress and adjusted a flower on her skirt. Shishou and Erin bought her a fairly simple light blue dress as an early birthday present and Erin helped her dress it up a little bit by adding bead streamers and real flowers to her dress. Teal decided to keep her hair down and two parts of her hair were pulled back, tied elegantly and braided.

"Also, try not to look too down, okay?" Shishou gave Teal a reassuring smile. "It was unfortunate that it wasn't there. You'll find another way to get it. Have patience. Remember what I usually say? You can't complete your journey…"

"Without having some fun along the way." Teal beamed at her father. 'Although it's easier said than done.'

Erin linked his arm to Teal and moved towards the crowd. Everyone slowly went towards the center to have their turn to dance. Teal could see Tyki and Lulubell dancing gracefully and beautifully with other people. When the bystanders were fewer in an area, they were able to make their way on to the floor.

Teal looked around and everything was dazzling. Some ornaments were hanging from the ceiling and a skylight gave one of the best views of the stars that she's ever seen. The out of season flowers and ribbons that were hanging everywhere gave the room a nice light touch of beauty. The music was fairly new to her and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Suddenly there seemed to be a quiet lingering wave near them. Teal looked around as she and Erin were getting into position and some people had interested and watchful eyes on them.

"Erin, people are staring at us…" She silently whined.

"We're newcomers so that's normal." Erin smiled and started to lead Teal. Teal carefully followed Erin's lead and tried to watch where her feet were going.

'I stepped on his foot already. Even though I'm dancing with my best friend, I'm extremely nervous.'

"Take your time." Erin smiled again. Teal returned the smile and after a couple of times of accidentally stepping on his foot, they were able to dance smoothly. The music stopped a short time afterward and there was applause from the bystanders. The dancers bowed and curtsied. As Erin and Teal were about to leave the floor to rest a little bit, they ran into Jasdevi.

"Hey, Jasdero, where'd you go?" Teal asked.

"To the food table. I never dance on an empty stomach. Hey did you see Devitto's dance?"

"Uh... Well… In all honesty, I was looking mostly at my feet, trying to make I'm not stepping on his foot." Teal said nervously as she pointed at Erin then she turned to Devitto, thinking he was expecting her to say something. "But I do admire that you have guts, Devitto. Well, uh… in good way. I wouldn't dance alone in front of that many people for anything."

"Thanks… I guess. You want to know the truth? It was horrible. And who's this guy?" Devitto pointed at Erin.

"I thought you might figure it out by now." Erin smiled. "It's me, Erin!"

"Say WHAT?" Jasdero and Devitto's jaws dropped. Teal tried not to laugh at them.

"Pfft. Sor- Sorry guys. I had to keep my mouth shut. After all, a lady never reveals her deepest and darkest secret until the time is right." Teal was mocking Erin's voice.

Jasdero nudged Devitto and rolled his eyes towards Teal when she turned her head to Erin.

"Hey, Teal. D-do you…"

"Ah, here you all are." Sheryl approached them. "Devitto, that dance was wonderful! I believe I taught you better than I thought. And to dance with the host's daughter no less!"

"Shut up." Devitto hung his head.

"And Jasdero, why aren't you dancing?"

"Um… Well…"

"I'll be your partner." Teal volunteered.

"Oh Teal, there you are. Where were you?"

"Sorry. I had to do something that couldn't wait. Have some faith in me will you?"

"C'mon, let's go, Teal!" Teal followed Jasdero to the dance floor.

"Haven't really gotten a chance to talk in the past couple of days, have we?"

"No, not really. Ah! Sorry!" Teal said as she stepped on Jasdero's foot. "I waited until the last minute to find a dress. And I haven't seen Shi-Dad in over a year and I want to spend some time with him. That's why I've been gone."

"Okay. So where did you go to buy a dress like that?" Jasdero asked.

"I found this at a second hand store and Erin helped me decorate it a bit. Talk about having a fairy godmother." She giggled.

"Hee! It's pretty!" He smiled. "Also, did you and Devitto have a fight or something? You two seem kind of distant." He and Teal stopped dancing and moved to the side to talk.

"Uh… Well… Not exactly… Would you believe me if I told you that I'm still embarrassed,"

"About him groping you?" Jasdero whispered.

"He did WHAT?" Teal said not too loudly but was still horrified and crossed her arms on her chest.

"He kissed you. Isn't that groping?"

"No. That isn't but-Wait a minute, how do you know about that?" She was turning even redder. "Oh. Twin telepathy. Right."

"You know about that too?" Jasdero was looking surprised.

"Who knows what about what now?"

"Let's change the subject, we're making me dizzy just thinking about it. So: I'm thinking that maybe you and Devi should have some time alone."

"Eh? Why?"

"C'mon, please? Devi really likes you and I'm sure he wants to spend some time with you."

'Kinda weird for Devitto to ask Jasdero to set me up with him but, Oh good Lord, he's doing the puppy eyes.' "Okay." She agreed. "Not really gonna ask too much but okay."

"Good enough for me." Jasdero smiled. 'I think she could really help Devi. Other than me, he doesn't really open up to a whole lot of people.'

"I believe the purpose of this ball is to be dancing." A boy with a British accent stood behind them. When Teal turned around, he was towering over her and Jasdero. He had sandy blond hair and everything about him was screaming 'do not approach' because he had an atmosphere like a ming vase. Look but don't touch because he was so… valuable, like a champion athlete that was revered from afar.

"May I have this dance?"

He dragged Teal on the dance floor before she could accept or decline.

"I must say, Devitto, you're quite the star here. I never thought it was possible." Sheryl beamed at him. "After all, you are coming of age in a few mere weeks so I suppose it is normal for a boy to act like a man now."

"How old were you when you became a man? Oh wait, hell hasn't frozen over yet."

"You should respect your elders." Sheryl steamed.

"Devitto, please show some courtesy while you're here." The Millennium Earl said from the shadows.

"Yes, Lord Millennium." Devitto returned to slouching on the banister.

"Hey Devi. You tired too? Hee!" Jasdero joined Devitto on the banister.

"Hell yeah. I had to dance with the du- darling host's daughter for most of the night." He just noticed that the host was behind him talking to Sheryl. "It's only a matter of time before she finds me." He said in one breath.

"Hey, have you danced with any other girls tonight?"

"Only her friends and this ugly girl. I'm the one who's supposed to be blackmailing."

There was a heh-hem behind him.

"N-not that I was doing any." He laughed nervously.

"I know a place where she won't find you: the west garden. The one with the ponds. Hee! I'll lead her away to get some peace and quiet for you. Also, maybe you should-"

"Thank YOU!" He caught a glimpse of that girl and bolted down the stairs out on to the patio so he could try to find the door to the garden. Before he went back in, he heard some hushed voices under him.

'So much for peace and quiet.' Then something darted over the wall and the voices were gone. 'Better get down there before anyone else does.' Devitto jumped over the edge of the balcony and landed right next to a large koi pond. He whipped his head around and there was nobody around yet.

'Well, what do you know? It actually is quite nice here.' He sat on the pond's edge and started to untie his bow and unbutton a couple of buttons on his shirt. 'I can't breathe in this damn thing. It's hard to breathe in there anyway.'

"Oh THERE you are." That girl came out of nowhere and came up to Devitto. "I was wondering where you were. Don't want to keep me worried, do you?"

"Do I look like I want to?" He retorted.

"If you can look that way at another girl, surely you can look that way at me." She said in a seductive purr.

"Okay, listen, I admit you're 'hot'," Devitto bent his fingers. "But get lost. I don't like you. Mainly because you remind me on someone I hate." The girl glanced at one of the pillars under the balcony with a quick, acid gaze then went back to Devitto.

"So, Teal," Her father approached her after she stepped outside for a breather. "How are you enjoying your first ball?" He smiled.

"It's… interesting. Definitely the last place I would be. But it's survivable."

"True, but I'm happy for you."

"Eh?"

"From what I can tell, you've opened up to more people than just me an Erin. You've become more sociable other than when you need to and I'm proud of you."

"Dad…" Teal smiled and blushed a bit.

"Now, come and dance with your daddy!" He had a big goofy smile and was about to lead to the dance floor.

"I-in a bit. I need to talk to Devitto first before I forget with all this dancing. Okay?"

"Alright." He smiled. "And you know what to do if he gets a LITTLE too comfortable, right?" He whispered.

"Shishou…" Teal couldn't suppress a laugh. "I'll see you in a while."

"I just love a man who plays hard to get." She giggled.

"Okay then. I'm not a man."

"Hey, Devitto, are you-"

'Uh. That commoner. What I want, I get.' The red haired girl rammed her lips on Devitto's and Teal saw it. That girl kissing him, and he didn't put up much resistance. She should've been okay with this. He was a FRIEND in the very least. But she was not okay with this. He wasn't just a friend to her.

She kept a calm façade until she went into a dark corridor where no one in the ballroom could see her. She leaned against the wall and felt like she was about to cry. A painful feeling was coming back. She liked someone. That someone liked someone else and she got hurt when she found out the hard way. But maybe she was wrong this time.

'Okay, just pull yourself together. Maybe I didn't see the whole thing. I mean, this is Devitto; he doesn't do well with girls. But I don't even know half of who he his, so anything is possible. Avoiding him doesn't help much either. But I guess I could just talk to him later.' She thought as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Oh, goodness, are you alright?" The girl came up to Teal with a fake sympathetic look. "You should know, he's way out of your league. Which is why he chose me over you."

"Says who? You should stop living in your fantasy and start in reality. Makes you look like a total bitch."

"Ohohoho." She slammed Teal against the wall and looked at her with her acid green eyes and a dangerous glare. "Reality. A place where dirty little whores like you take what is rightfully ours. My father has a group of private assassins and if you don't go where you belong, you'll wish that you have never been born. And your father and your friend too."

"Oooh hiding behind daddy and living in a fantasy. That makes you a spoiled little bitch. Oh, and I got something to tell you." Teal shoved the girl to the other side. "You threaten those who are dear to me," She used her right hand and grabbed the front of her shirt. "You're death won't be pretty."

"Help! Help! Murderer! Murderer! She's going to kill me!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. Teal immediately let go and backed away. The girl had an evil smirk on her face and continued screaming.

"Please tell me it's not- Teal." Devitto stood in the doorframe and was looking at both girls.

"Oh, Devitto. It was terrible." She sobbed.

"What did you do to her? Get out of my sight. I want nothing more to do with a puppet that doesn't do what they're told." Teal couldn't say anything. This stabbed her right in the heart. She told him what she was afraid of how everyone saw her. It was exactly like saying she's worthless. She just took off, barely fighting back her tears.

"Hey Teal, wait! Where are you going?"

'She was crying again? I didn't say anything this time.'

Back at the Mansion

"Ah, another ball, well done." Sheryl sighed in relief. "Except for the small commotion at the end. That gave me quite the scare."

"Luckily it wasn't an akuma that went berserk. Otherwise, we'd all be in trouble." Road said.

"Plus, there are too many memories to erase. Not a whole lot of our supporters know about the akuma."

Devitto moved away from everyone else and made his way to Teal's room.

"Hey, Teal?" He knocked on the door. "Care to explain what happened back there? You just took off." There was no answer. "Are you mad about- Oh. I think I know what happened. You saw us. It wasn't what it looked like." He leaned against the door and it just opened. The room was absolutely empty. He looked around and he noticed that the drawers were emptied and her bag was nowhere to be found.

"Oh shit. Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to run again."


	22. 22 WIP

**Hey everyone, I wanted to let you know that this story is still alive! I'm updating this story EXTREMELY whacky and I apologize for that, I update what ideas come into my head and I'm rewritting most of the story and I have like half of it done so yay. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added to their favs and alerts and thanks for your patience although I haven't uploaded a new chapter since forever. So this chapter has fluffyness and I hope you guys like it although this is a work in progress, I will possibly update it later after my diploma exams most likely and after I get new Hetalia chapters up. My latest obsession is PrussiaxCanada and Spamano. 0/0 Thanks again and I hope you like it!**

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My Choice

Devitto just stood there in disbelief. Was she that hurt that she was going to risk her life to run away again?

"Help me!" Echoed in Devitto's head. Suddenly his entire body hurt all over then stopped.

"The hell? She's gonna get herself killed."

"Miss, are you… Master Devitto!" A maid was standing outside her door. "Where is…?"

"I don't know. But listen," Devitto came up to her. "Don't mention anything to the others. For all you know, she's visiting her friend." He said as he hurried towards his room.

"Jasdero,"

"Devi? What's wrong?"

"Teal's gone. I think she made a run for it again."

"What? Wait, what happened? Why do you think she would've run?"

"Okay… Here goes…" Devitto took a deep breath. "She probably saw this girl kiss me. Remember that girl we met the other day? The female you know who asshole look alike?"

"Yeah. So she kissed you?" Jasdero had a disgusted look on his face.

"I know, gross isn't it? Aw great, you made me think of something nasty!"

"Not my fault that girl looks like you know who." They both shared extremely disgusted faces.

"Anyway… I think we should start looking tomorrow." Jasdero said. "Her dad may know something but it's too late to go over there now."

"Alright." Devitto nodded.

"Hey Devi,"

"Mmm?"

"Can I ask how you feel about Teal? You seem happier when she's around now."

"I dunno. I like her… Weird, ain't it? I found her to be a total pain and wanted nothing to do with her but now…" Devitto looked down and scratched his head to hide his faint blush. "How do you feel about her?"

Jasdero paused for a moment then answered him. "I really like her. But I love my brother and I think that you should be happy. I know that much."

"Dero…"

"OMG! Twincest moment!" Road overheard the last part of Jasdero's sentence as she was heading to her room. She stood at their doorway and couldn't stop a giggle fit.

"Get over here, you little brat!" Devitto bolted out the door after Road.

"You're late." A husky female voice snarled.

"I had some business to take care of." The frigid winter winds were approaching. It isn't the ideal condition for a tournament but it had to be done at night. Without watchful eyes of civilians and police. The best place to go is the most deserted place in the town. The woods that led to the mountains that were on the other side of the train station did provide a place far enough to avoid suspicion. But the scent of blood that would be shed would attract predators. No one bothered to go to the eastern woods. Rumors have spread that demons (the akuma) will kill you if you go anywhere near there. There is only one place left: the abandoned shopping district where most buildings are ready to collapse and where thugs and thieves lurk in the dark.

"All right, you bitches. Now that everyone's here, shut your traps and listen." The tallest member of the group was circling around a burning barrel that was in the middle of a pathway. She had short spiky hair and wore a mask on her face.

"This year's prize is this map. This isn't your ordinary treasure map. This leads to the jackpot." She held a golden brown scroll in her hand high in the air with pride. "This map leads to the catacombs of this godforsaken town. Legend has it that hundreds- possibly up to a thousand years ago, looters and thieves who have stolen from the big shots have stored all of the loot down in the catacombs. There's millions and millions of dollars of treasure and other things. There used to be many passages to the catacombs but they have collapsed over the course of time. But one. Few have found it but no one went down there for many years. It is impossible by simply digging. You dig one night looking for the catacombs, the hole will fill itself up by morning. This map can lead you to fortune, ladies. If you want it so bad, you have to listen to my every word." She slipped the map into her inside coat pocket.

"First off, to get this map, you obviously have to win the tournament. In addition, you get one demand that can go against the code. Second, if I catch any of you bitches cheating or trying to get the map in any dishonourable manner that violates the code that bitch will pay the same price as a coward and the map will be thrown in the fire. A coward must suffer beatings from everybody. Those who do not participate in the beating will be reprimanded. Think twice of becoming a coward. If you wish to leave now, you will not get the shit beat out of you. But this is your last chance. When the tournament begins, there is no mercy. The rules of the tournament are simple: the first one at a stalemate loses. You may only use wooden swords that we have supplied. May the strongest survive."

"Devi… Devi! WAKE UP!" Jasdero yelled.

"Mnn… It's too cold. A few more hours…" Devitto moaned.

"If you actually wore a shirt, you wouldn't be cold. Then again, I'm not really the one to talk." Jasdero said as he looked down.

"Okay. I'm up I'm up."

"We better wear something warm, it's starting to snow. Hee! And it's cold!" Jasdero gave a yelp after he put his hand on the window. "Devi, help. I'm stuck."

"It better not be your tongue on the window again. Last year I was ready to create a flamethrower. Alright, hold still." He grabbed his brother's arm and was able to get it free on the fourth or fifth tug.

"Thanks." He smiled at his brother. "Now let's get ready and go!"

Jasdevi used the ark to get to the town and they arrived at the abandoned shopping district where no one would see them.

"Sheesh, what a dump. Hard to believe anyone would come here."

"Move it Devi! Someone's coming!" They heard heavy but slow footsteps so they changed to their human forms quickly.

There was a figure breathing heavily and leaning against the wall. They could see that it was severely injured and on the verge of passing out. The figure did see them from the darkness and was on her knees begging for mercy as she thought she was going to die.

"Okay… Weird druggy, we come in peace." Jasdero said as he and Devitto slowly backed away.

"Any idea where her dad lives?" Devitto asked Jasdero when they entered the main market place.

"Some place on the outskirts?... I've got an idea! I'll be right back!" Jasdero opened an ark gate when the coast was clear and closed it when he went through. Devitto stood at the alley entrance making sure no one would enter and notice the gate when Jasdero came back.

'Humph. It's starting to snow. I hate it when it's so damn cold. The only thing I can really look forward to is our birthday. We finally turn 18 and can do whatever the hell we want.'

"I'm back, Devi!" Jasdero brought his chicken.

"Dero, I know our chicken is awesome but I don't think it has a good sense of smell."

"Are you kidding? Chickens are in the top… 20 of the most intelligent animals on earth."

"Where'd you find that out?"

"Lucky guess." Jasdero grinned. "Go boy!" He threw his chicken in the air and it made a rough landing. It pecked the ground for a bit and clucked as it charged down the alley.

"Let's go!"

3 hours later…

"Anything look familiar yet?" Devitto said as he and Jasdero were on the way to the light house.

"Kind of. We walked down her with Teal before so maybe when we reach the lighthouse we can work our way from there."

"Don't let the chicken lead this time. If we get lost in there, we are so freakin' screwed."

"But if we do get lost, we can use the ark to get back."

"Right. I knew that." After another few hours finally made it to Shishou's place, ready to pass out.

"Damn. How long have we been living around here and we can't even navigate through this part of town?" Devitto panted.

"Because it never interested us?" Jasdero leaned against a tree holding his chicken.

"Right."

"Oh, hello. Are you Master Black's students?" Alexander greeted them at the gate.

"No. We're friends with his daughter."

"Very well. Please come in and I'll get Master Black." Jasdero and Devitto made their way into the sitting room like before and waited anxiously for Shishou.

'_What's wrong? Were you crying?'_

'_I'm fine.' _

'_I know my own daughter well enough to tell that she's upset. What's wrong?'_

'_Dad… I can't… I want to tell you so much. Everything that's happened since I left. But-but... I just can't!' _

What the? How am I seeing this? Is this what happened the night she left?

"Devitto!" Jasdero shook him by the shoulder and back into reality. "You okay? You're just staring off into space."

"Huh, yeah I'm alright. It's weird. I thought I saw…"

"Hello boys." Teal's father was standing in the doorway. His tone had lost some of its kindness and he gave them a polite smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"Uh yeah. Is Teal around?" Jasdero asked.

"No, she's not."

"We can't find her. She's been gone since the ball." Devitto and Jasdero could catch that this news didn't seem to surprise him too much although he tried to hide it.

"Well, she's the kind of girl who can't sit still for a minute. She probably is working an all-nighter at her job to get her mind off of certain things." He said dismissively. "So if you excuse me, I have some students coming later."

"I call that bull." Devitto stood up suddenly. "You know something, don't you? She came here didn't she? Where did she go?"

"I don't approve of that language but I'll let it slide this time." He sighed. "I can tell you really care for her by your actions. But a father could only go so far to protect his child."

"So did she come here?" Devitto was slightly calmer.

"Yes. But I can't tell you where she went. I honestly don't know myself. Teal does have a tendency to go to such dangerous lengths to help or protect someone she cares about all by herself. I noticed that she bearing a heavy burden and appeared to have nowhere to go. I'll just cut to the chase: she told me everything. About herself, what she suffered through and what she found." He glanced at Jasdevi as if he were studying them.

"She told you about-" Jasdero pointed between himself and Devitto. Shishou gave a small nod.

"Yes. I know it isn't meant to be discovered but if you blame someone, blame me. I couldn't bear watching her suffer because of that. I'm aware of the consequences but I'd rather face them then watch my daughter live in agony until she dies."

Jasdevi remained silent for a while. From the faint bad memories of their own father, it took a while for it to sink in that he'd be willing to die for her sake. There are people who are actually willing to do such a thing.

"So can I ask how you feel about her now that you know? About us being with her and this whole situation?" Jasdero asked.

"I'll stand by Teal regardless of the choices that she makes or what she becomes. I won't interfere with her staying at that place if that is her choice. As for you… Teal seems to trust you and care for you so I'll trust you as well. But I do have one…" Shishou was waving his hand while trying to find the right word. "Demand. I guess you can call it that. If you really do care for her, make sure she doesn't lose herself."

'Man, Night three already. With any luck it'll finish tonight.' Teal thought as she stretched her arms and walked down the abandoned shopping district with the head girl of the group and one other girl. The other girl was the second or third best in the group, tall, strong and other than that, nothing really marks her as anything special. 'I'm exhausted but I can't give in now.'

"So, Siren was it? Hard to believe you're back in business. Got tired of living with the big shots, eh?" The head girl said.

"Never liked 'em from the beginning. Bunch of stuck up bastards with guns. Not to mention those prissy bitches. Makes me want to kill them."

"So why haven't you?" The leader grinned as she lit a cigarette.

"Meh. Don't feel like being hanged."

"Are you stupid? You just said they had collections of guns so they'll only shoot you. And it's easier to recover from."

"I didn't say that."

"Hey, we've got intruders." The other girl pointed. Teal looked up and Devitto and Jasdero were in conversation by themselves.

'Ah geez, why now?' "Best to leave them alone. They were at that thing and if we mug 'em, they're likely to squeal and we're gonna get shot." 'Hurry up and get back.'

"I need to let loose but the code forbids it during a tournament."

"You can let loose when I kick your ass." Teal said.

"Heh, I like your attitude." The leader grinned.

"I doubt you'll win, outsider. Outsiders haven't won one of our tournaments in a few years."

"Well if it isn't the twins. I was wondering where you were." Tyki approached them shortly after they stepped through the gate. They arrived in the entrance hall. He had a smug 'you're in for it' look.

"What? We're not kids Tyki we can do what the hell we want."

"Tell that to the Earl. He wants to see you." Tyki pointed down to the hallway on his right.

"He's in the living room upstairs and try not to step on his scarves this time." He sighed. Devitto and Jasdero exchanged they're 'Oh shit' looks. They did do some pranks in the previous couple of days such as hiding in town; throwing a tomato at occasional passers then popping a bag, making a person think they'd been shot. To them it was pretty funny to watch their victim freak out and faint. Then at one of their few breaks at the ball, they secretly planted a smoke stink bomb in the champagne and it must've got someone good.

They managed to keep their sniggering under control long enough to keep a calm façade to the Earl.

"Hello boys.~" The Earl looked their way as he was working on a knitting project. The room that they were in was large, dark and was only lit by floating pumpkins overhead. On the floor were telephones all over the place.

"How's your mission going with Teal? Has she told you anything of what she's planning to do yet? I see that you two are starting to become quite close to her and she must've told you something.~"

'Yes, we're not in trouble. Yet.' Jasdevi thought.

"It's- it's going okay. She's less hostile but she hasn't really told us anything what she's gonna do." Devitto said.

"Except that she's afraid of becoming one of us."

"I see. That's a normal reaction. Jasdevi, do you know why I asked you to get close to her again?" The Earl's tone made Jasdevi swallowed. It was deadly kind meaning that they were in for some serious trouble.

"Because we were friends when we were kids?"

"Partially.~ When you were friends with her, you created a special, powerful bond with her and those bonds are extremely difficult to break. And using that bond, her feelings, thoughts and experiences can transfer to you in visions. And that bond is the reason why you regained your memories of her."

"So using that bond, we could see what she was thinking… And we could use it to convince her to-" Jasdero was trying to sum everything up.

"Exactly.~ And possibly to get some information about the Order. Normally, the visions would be transferred to you under great deals of stress and since she's in a very delicate stage, she's very unpredictable and anything could be transferred. And I urge you to do everything you can to convince her to awaken her Noah. The sooner the better."

"What do you mean, Lord Millennium?" Devitto asked carefully.

"She's a natural fighter and is still resisting her Noah to the best of her abilities. The longer she resists, the more disastrous the consequences will be. She will fall into insanity and eventually die. Then it's another twenty or so years to find her reincarnation. We're looking for two more of our clan and we don't need a third to look for.~" As Devitto and Jasdero were about to leave, the Earl stopped them.

"One more thing." He tossed them a vial of red liquid. "Make sure she drinks that. That will awaken her Noah immediately."

* * *

"Oi, Siren! Ready to face your final match?" Teal wiped the blood off of her face that her opponent spat on her before she delivered the final blow. She ached all over with cuts and bruises everywhere and she could only feel a strong surge of warmth flowing through her body while the whole square reeked of blood.

"Oi, Siren!"

"Yeah, I'm ready." She said monotonically. She went to the center of the square where the leader was waiting for her. They crossed their swords and there was a tense atmosphere between them as they glared in each other's eyes.

"Yer not scared, are ye Siren?"

"You wish." Teal growled. There was something about her that made Teal like she wanted to kill her. So much hatred, so much anger, this person was a sinner, she had to die otherwise the world would die because of this sneaky, traitorous wench that stood in front of her. No, that's not it. Another voice in her head was saying. The leader was a criminal and the aura of severe corruption surrounded her but Teal could not kill her. She was not here to kill humans; she was here to find something she desired more than anything.

The fight was excruciating painful. Teal's opponent was quicker than her and it was difficult to land decent hits due to she was exhausted and her Innocence was starting to slow her down. It didn't bother her much lately so why now? There were a few times where she was knocked down and almost couldn't get back on her feet. She wanted to give up. Let the pain stop. Let it stop. Try again, keep going. The voice of her will continually encouraged her to be persistent as she was in so many of her fights before and came out victorious-although not always in one piece.

"This is it!" Teal cried as she disarmed her opponent and took her sword. She finally did it. She won. She desperately wanted to collapse and rest. She got what she wanted but she knew there was a price that had to be paid. This wasn't over.

"Well done." The leader smirked. "You're better than I remember. Now, name your term. You can be leader, you can have anything you want from us, just say it." She handed Teal the map and looked at her expectantly. She was expecting her to take the new position as a leader.

Teal opened the map carefully as her fingers trembled. It was a map of the catacombs that lead to a vault. She placed her finger on the picture of the vault and a vision showed her that what she was looking for was there. She would be free if she could recover whatever it was about the Noah. Then her thoughts shifted to Devitto, Jasdero, her father, her friends then to Devitto. After all this time, what would the price be to be free? What did it mean to be free anyway? If she became a normal human at the price of the ones she loves, it wouldn't be worth it.

She closed the map and swallowed hard. She knew one thing: the map was hers. She could take her time to think about going after the treasure. If she didn't want it for herself in the end, the Order would find some use for it.

"I-I want this map to be kept in my possession, untouched by any of you… When I leave." The girls looked around in shock. The strongest person was just going to walk away and leave with the prize.

"Heh. We won't touch the map in any way. Like you want. But…" The leader's voice turned deadly and everyone circled around her. Ten against one. Which is better: going against them single-handedly or facing a Level 4? They were equal in pain and terror. "You know what happens to deserters don't ya?"

"I know the price." Teal whispered hoarsely. One girl grabbed her from under the arms and held her in a position where she was totally helpless and immobilized.

"Then get ready to take it, bitch!" The leader took the first hit on her face then several others followed. She was ready to cry and plead for her mercy but her mouth was too numb and it was filling with blood. Then she was thrown to the ground and everywhere it felt like she was going to be crushed. The pain was just too much, there was one blow after the other and there wasn't even enough time to allow a numbing feeling to occur so the pain would be less intense. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, no one was coming to rescue her. Everything hurt and even struggling to breathe was next to impossible and excruciating painful. After what seemed like hours, they finally stopped but the next thing Teal heard sent her an extreme fear that she felt only once or twice before: she was actually going to die. Someone unsheathed their sword and the sound of metal sent painful shivers down her spine. Someone grabbed a handful of her hair and she yelped as she was forced on her hands and knees. The metal was getting closer and was right on the back of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed it would be quick. The metal made a quick slash and she collapsed once more.

When she opened her eyes, she saw patches of white all over the ground. Her body hurt worse than it did facing the Level 4 and the akuma with Jacob's soul combined. She nimbly touched the back of her neck and other than a bruise or two, it was unscathed. As she moved her hand down, she felt a soft bristly feeling on her shoulder and realized what happened.

'Well, better my hair than my neck I guess.' She cringed and then started to sob softly. Why? She knew what was going to happen. She knew that the pain would be there. She wasn't supposed to cry over it. But, then again, you can't control everything. Something needed to cry. The soft falling snow was the only thing to comfort her and soothe her as she was fading back into a peaceful sleep. Then shadows and red stained the snow beside her and shadows were lurking over her.

* * *

Devitto sighed as he pulled his hood up. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up the charade. He told anyone who was looking for Teal that she was doing some work and didn't come back late or until he or Jasdero picked her up from town. It did work for now but if it kept up, they'd figure it out.

He pulled out the vial out of his pocket and just stared at it. She wasn't strong enough to beat the Noah. She had to accept it or she was going to die. So what? She's an exorcist. One less annoyance, a voice in his head thought. But other than the Clan and Jasdero, no one truly cared for him or loved him. He thought back to their accidental meeting in China. He didn't think much of her at first, thinking she was a total idiot for going against a man with a gun on her own. When they actually could see each other clearly, he did think she was kind of cute, and pretty stubborn, cheeky and kind of funny. Not something you find everyday and he was… kind of attracted to it.

The things she said to him, 'Not something you hear everyday, I like it… It was nice meeting you. I hope we meet again!' Her smile, her kindness he yearned for it. But what were the chances that they would actually meet again? And would she accept him if she knew what he was?

The next time he saw her, she was with the exorcists and the final pieces of his memory came together. He was furious, he felt betrayed. He wanted to kill her for betraying him by joining the exorcists who were the Noah's natural enemies. When he found out that she had a Noah and had to convince her to join their side, he didn't know what to think. He'd swear that he wouldn't get too close. He would do anything just to get his job done and think of nothing more but that day when she was going to kill herself, he had to stop her. Not because of what he was told to do, but because he did care for her. After that, he couldn't but help liking her more and more. Which brings him to this point where she was the only other person that mattered other than Jasdero.

"Please, stay alive for me." He whispered as he put it back into his pocket.. He was about to open a gate for the ark to head back when he heard some soft crying. He turned around and he saw somebody badly beaten who was surrounded by a thin layer of snow and blood. He cautiously moved towards them, and pulled down the coat that was draped over them.

"Teal…" He whispered. She barely moaned, and cracked her eyes open slightly.

"Devitto?" Teal said heavily as tears were rolling down her cheeks. "Where…"

"You're with me. You're gonna be okay." He said as he moved his arm under her shoulder to lean her up against him. She whimpered as he moved her close to him. "Hey, hey… It's okay." She rested her head on his shoulder against his neck, embracing what little warmth she could recognize. He could hear a faint 'I'm sorry' over and over as a warm tear landed on the side of his neck.

"It's okay. I'm going to take you back now." He gave her a comforting smile.

"Stay with me... Please..." She barely whispered as she moved closer to him slightly.

"You idiot," He kissed her forehead. "I won't leave you again. I promise. I love you."


End file.
